A Foreign Affair
by ruadh sidhe
Summary: Sean,two years after Stacy's death is close to losing everything when he meets someone who makes him crazy.  Will it help or hurt?
1. Chapter 1

Author: bansidhe and mrstrentreznor

Title: A Foreign Affair

Rating:M for sex, language and themes

Fandom: A Man Apart

Pairing: Sean Vetter and OC

Archive: Only at FanFic.

Feedback: please and thankyou

Author's Notes: a collaboration that got truly verbose bansidhe: had been thinking about doing something other than Big Evil for a while, got to talking and well... this is what happened.

Disclaimer: All recognisable characters from A Man Apart belong to the big damn movie studio that made the movie - duh

Summary: Set two years after the events portrayed in AMA; Sean still has his badge, but only just. He is given one last chance to toe the line. He has to co-operate with their new, Australian liaison agent.

**A Foreign Affair**

Love changes a man. Revenge tears him apart. His new partner makes him insane.

Jo Buckle

Jo Buckle was an Australian Federal Police agent. She caught a plane to Los Angeles to participate in a combined DEA assignment. She stood 5ft 3 in her bare feet. Her hair was blond, her eyes were blue and she was small statured. She had worked hard to get where she was. She could play 'one of the boys' but she had never dressed like one.

The flight time of 15 hours and 30 minutes from Sydney to Los Angeles was a killer for anyone.

It felt worse because she was going back in time and she almost arrived before she technically left. Sydney is 17 hours ahead. She would have to program that into her i-phone or something. She was unlikely to forget. Actually she was more worried about her mother forgetting and phoning her in the middle of the night. When the phone rings that late; there are only two options: disaster or forgetfulness.

It was her first international flight in a while and she had forgotten just how irritating airport security checks were now.

She understood better than anyone that these kinds of checks were necessary. What people probably don't understand is that they can't search everyone as well as they would like. So they have a target of the day; today it is young men aged 19 to 24. They will all be pulled out and searched.

Another day it might be old women, Asians or people of Middle Eastern appearance or whatever. It adds to your travel time and it is irritating to have to take your shoes off at three different gates, but the rules protect everyone.

Jo likes rules; they help you to know where you stand. She likes them so much she joined the police force. Truthfully, it is all she had ever wanted to be. Her father told the hilarious story at her cadet graduation lunch about her driving around in her little red peddle car 'booking' other toddlers. She must have been three years old.

She does not know who the first police officer was that she saw, that inspired this level of devotion to the force, but whoever it was, they had a lifelong influence on her. And they weren't called policeman anymore; it was 'officers' to avoid sexism.

It wasn't called the force any more either; too confrontational. It was the 'service' now. She collected her bags from the luggage carousel. She only had three suitcases now; the rest would be shipped later if the job worked out.

She had been appointed as the Australian federal police liaison to the Los Angeles DEA. It was a huge opportunity. She wasn't quite sure why no one else had wanted this job.

Whatever.

She was going to make it **hers**; she was good at that. Making sure things went the way she wanted. Even the other three year olds who had tried to stop her booking them had discovered that the hard way. Nobody got in the way of Federal Agent Buckle and her ambition. No one.

She checked her watch that she had reset on the plane to the correct time. She felt a little drained but decided she had better go to the meeting at the DEA office first. She could find her hotel later. Her bags would have to come with her.

She was not in uniform right now; it was easier to travel in mufti. (plain clothes)

Jo spent all her spare money on fashion. And as a good Sydney girl, there were lots of shops to spend it in. Her luggage was a matching set of Spencer Rutherford. The name of the style was Cosmic Express and she loved the pink accents. It was kind of frivolous. But she could allow herself to be a little frivolous on occasion. Especially when it came to fashion. Her father always argued that the luggage just looked like she had something in them worth stealing.

Her ID allowed her special treatment. She didn't think **that** was outside the rules.

On the plane she woke at breakfast and washed up in one of the toilets. She had even got changed. She now wore a bright pink satin suit with a black blouse. With a sensible pair of black pumps. She matched her luggage. She was so excited to be in LA; fashion city here she comes.

She had an appointment with Special Agent in Charge Ty Frost. He would be her supervising officer.

She really hoped her new partner would be a good fit for her. She sat in the back of the cab and watched the buildings of downtown Los Angeles as they moved past her window. She desperately needed a coffee. Maybe they would have some at the office?

**Sean Vetter**

Sean got up early, showered and even shaved for a change. He had to see the Cap this morning... something about a new assignment... a last chance. He sighed; he had so fucked up this last year. Even D was getting tired of putting up with him, told him he had to snap out of his funk.

Memo was dead, the cartel's pipeline broken, the bastard that had shot his wife was gone; it was time to move on. That's what the department shrinks said. He needed to put the anger behind him; grieve, yes, but in a constructive, non-violent way. What the hell did that mean, anyway?

He dressed, not really looking at what he threw on, a t-shirt and jeans, light jacket and his boots. Gun in the shoulder holster, back-up on his right ankle. Wallet in the back pocket, and his badge hooked on the side of his belt. Under the jacket, where it wasn't obvious. The same way he'd been dressing for years, ever since he'd joined the DEA's elite anti-drug task force.

He walked outside, locking the house, not bothering to straighten up, what for? Jumped into the truck, lit his first of the day and burned down the street. He stopped for coffee on the way to the office, his usual breakfast. He was never hungry anymore anyway. Not until he'd been out of the house for a while and things distracted him. He rarely ate there.

Figuring it couldn't hurt, he'd stopped at a Starbuck's for the coffee and picked up a couple extras; one for D and one for the Cap. And a half dozen sweet things... donuts, scones, muffins, whatever. They weren't for him.

The big agent slouched into the building and rode up twenty floors to his desk. He put one cup on D's desk, wondering where his partner was. Demetrius always beat him in. Dropped the bag of carbs there, too.

Still a couple minutes early, he headed down the hall to Frost's office and tapped on the door frame. It was open as usual, Frost behind the desk. "Come in, Sean." The SAC looked up and his brows rose for a moment. Vetter had actually cleaned up; had he heard something?

"Sit down, son." When Sean handed him the coffee, he smiled. "Bribing the old man, are we? Thanks." Sean just twitched his head to the side and slumped in the opposite seat, sipping his own hot beverage.

"So what's goin' on, Cap? The message said something new?" His rough gravel-growl reverbed through the room. Sean looked around as if expecting someone to come through the door.

Frost sighed to himself. This wasn't going to be easy. He only hoped the boy would accept this and not explode. He really didn't want to pull his badge... again. Because he wouldn't get it back this time.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter two**

**Jo Buckle**

Jo climbed out of the cab after paying the fare. "Cheers mate," she told the driver. She had a moment of anxiety while she tried to get all the bags out by herself.

The driver just popped the boot and didn't get out of his seat. Oh, she supposed she should call it a trunk here. She was really going to have to learn to speak septic* properly. [*septic tank – rhyming slang for Yank=American]

She made her way up the walk to the front door of the building. She pulled the larger bag, had a bright pink shoulder strap across her shoulder from the medium sized bag and carried the smallest in her hand.

She reached the counter. "G'day mate… I've got an appointment with Special Agent in Charge Frost."

The man at the counter stared at her blankly.

"This is the DEA?" she asked.

"Wha?" he said in stunned amazement.

She rolled her eyes. Put down all her luggage and rifled around in her (this season) handbag to find her badge and the letter of introduction. She flipped her badge at him.

"Federal Agent Buckle," she introduced herself. "From Austraya. Can I leave my bags here?"

"This ain't a hotel, lady."

The guy just pointed to the lifts. Elevators, she should call them elevators.

"Cheers," she told him. She checked the letter to see what floor SAC Frost was on.

Just then, another officer approached her. "Jo Buckle?" he checked.

"Yep, that's me," she confirmed and waved her badge at him. She had tucked it into her waistband so she didn't have to keep fishing it out of her bag.

"I'm with Human Resources. If you would please come with me? There are a few formalities to take care of before you can attend your meeting with Special Agent in Charge Frost?"

"Okey dokey." She gave him her most beaming smile. Her mum had always told her you caught more ants with honey and it was one of her personal mantras.

"All right then... this way." He waved towards the elevators and pressed the up button.

Jo stood, waiting. She tapped her foot a little, this was all so irritating and she just wanted to get down to it. But, she couldn't do the job without being fingerprinted and going through all the paperwork. Rules were rules.

The officer escorted her through the formalities: a new photo for her new ID card, completing a dozen forms for health benefits, retirement (she supposed that was the US equivalent of superannuation) and a raft of other things. She even had to be fingerprinted. Ughh.

She noticed the guy watching her as she intently wiped off every trace of that awful ink. She must have used half his box of wet wipes. She was so hoping she didn't get a smear on her suit, that would be a disaster.

They made their way back to the elevators.

"Do you know who you are going to be partnered with?" the HR guy asked.

"No, I haven't been notified yet. But I am sure they will be a true professional. I mean the DEA doesn't mess around with gang types, do they?" She beamed at him again.

Now that was odd. The poor man was choking. She whacked him on the back helpfully.

"Are you right there?" she asked solicitously.

He was facing firmly to the front of the elevator now while Jo checked her fingernails for any last traces of ink. The elevator ground to a halt and the HR guy held his arm across the door; stopping it from closing. He didn't get out.

"I should let you go here," he said. "It's the last office at the end of the corridor." He gave her a smile of his own. "Good luck!"

"Cheers, mate! I'll probably see you round like a rissole." (*see you around/later - a rissole is a hamburger patty, so it is round - yeah I know, doesn't make sense to me either)

He looked blank for a second, then he stuttered a reply. "Yes... something like that."

Jo collected all her baggage and trundled off down the corridor. She had no idea the wake of activity she left behind her. Each person she passed, stopped what they were doing, sometimes mid phone conversation, rose to their feet, and stuck their head out of their cubicle or office to watch her progress.

Jo could smell coffee and something else... doughnuts? Goodness. Were all the legends about American police and doughnuts true? She was dying for a decent cappuccino. She hadn't managed to get one so far and those vending machines dispensed something awful; whatever it was, it wasn't coffee in her book.

**Sean**

"Yeah. This is the first time we've collaborated with our Aussie colleagues. And this job comes straight from the Director." Frost looked his most serious, hunched forward over his desk, fingers laced and braced on the edge.

Sean's brows rose and he looked over his shoulder again. "Shouldn't we wait for D, boss?" As he returned his gaze to Frost, he frowned. The man looked unhappy and Vetter began to get a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"You won't be working with Demetrius on this one, Sean. We're partnering you with our Aussie liason." Before he could protest, Frost lifted a hand. "I'm relying on you to make this work, son. Michele Leonhart called personally, and said 'my best man'. You were always the best... and you have to be the best now, too. This is your last shot, Sean. You fuck this up and we're **both** done."

Sean slumped back in his seat and sighed in disgust. So now he got to babysit some foreign cop he probably wouldn't even be able to understand. He had heard what Frost hadn't said. No one else wanted this assignment.

"So what's his name and when does he arrive?" he grumped. "How long is this 'job' supposed to last? Do I take him on a tour of the city or what?"

"Federal agent Jo Buckle is downstairs right now getting all her paperwork sorted. You'll meet when they're done with her."

Sean frowned again and cocked his head to the side briefly. He narrowed his eyes and glared at the Cap. "Her?" He repeated, horrified.

Frost couldn't quite repress the smirk that insisted on twisting the corners of his mouth. "Oh, yes. I forgot. She's a highly decorated officer. Comes to us from their IA division."

"Fuck, Cap! I can't..."

"You watch your mouth in front of the lady, boy."

Sean scrubbed his hands over his face and just looked at Frost. There was no bending visible in the Cap's face. He sighed heavily, again. He was so screwed. With a quiet, defeated, 'yes, sir," he wandered back out into the squad room.

"Be back in the meeting room at ten for the briefing. We'll introduce her to the rest, then." Frost sighed to himself, shaking his white mane and hoping the man who had been his most promising agent before his wife was murdered would hold it together.

Sean slouched at his desk, looking at the rifled bag of muffins. D had been in, his coffee was gone, too. Hadn't even waited to commiserate. It must be worse than he thought. Stomach soured, he pushed the bag of breakfast breads away. Definitely had no appetite now.

Sean glanced up from the report he was working on, saw nothing and then ignored the noise. Might as well get something done before the briefing.

"G'dday mate... can you tell me where I might find Agent Vetter or SAC Frost?" The voice was nasal but irritatingly perky. It rose at the end of the sentence, grating on his nerves.

He barely glanced up from his paperwork. Then his head snapped up, eyes wide and his jaw dropped. "Oh, no fuckin' way!"

He winced; _Great, just what the Cap said not t' do. Please tell me she's just lost. If this... this fashionista is my new partner... OMG! She has an accent! I am so fucked!_

Sean stared at the tiny blonde in the perfectly appointed hot-pink suit, matching bag slung over her shoulder, brand-new DEA badge clipped to her lapel and actually growled. "You're Joe Buckle?" He scowled, now really pissed.


	3. Chapter 3

**Partners**

Jo stood with a small frown on her face. There must be some kind of mistake. This unkempt man could not be a DEA officer.

"Are you Vetter?" He reeked of cigarette smoke. Ughh. She hated smokers with a passion. She leaned sideways and looked him up and down. Jeans? And a T-shirt.

He looked sideways at her and a brow rose before he made a disgusted face. She hadn't thought to ask the HR guy about dress regulations.

"It's not Friday here is it?" She got a blank stare.

"Do you do casual Fridays?"she asked. That must be the explanation.

Sean leaned away and looked at her like she'd just escaped an insane asylum. "It's Tuesday."

Even the time change couldn't account for her being that far off. What the hell was wrong with her?

"Struth! I only just got here, so after that long a plane flight, I don't even know what day it is." She let out a small, nervous giggle. This could not be her new partner. She might be seeing that HR guy sooner than even he expected. But where were her manners; she hadn't even introduced herself. She took a few seconds to dump all her bags. And then she held out her hand to the confused looking man.

"Jo Buckle."

He leaned back, the chair squeaking. "Seriously?" He looked shocked and dismayed. He did not offer his hand back. "Sean Vetter."

She frowned. How rude. He couldn't even shake her hand. Oh well, she was kind of glad; she was surreptitiously trying to check out which hand he held his cigarettes in. She hated the thought of all that yellow tar touching her skin. Double ugh.

Sean looked up at the clock, more to give himself a minute to adjust than anything and realized it was almost ten. He stood, straighter than usual, just to get her reaction to his size. He knew he looked intimidating to most. "Might as well head to the briefing," he growled.

She blinked at the sheer size of the man.

"Jeez mate, you must have eaten your Weetbix, when you were a kid. You are nearly as big as my little brother."

Sean just growled and said, "Leave the...luggage back here. C'mon, wanna get a seat."

How odd; the man... she supposed she ought to try and think of him as her new partner... he just seemed to growl at her. Just like the cattle dogs on Da's farm; they were all kinds of tough, until they worked out how you fitted in. She just needed to find out what this guy liked. Maybe talking would relax him. "Wouldya believe it? The guy at the front desk wouldn't let me leave my bags down there... told me it wasn't a hotel..." She giggled again.

"Hey, Vetter! You on fashion patrol this week? I don't blame ya for bringing that in, but, shit, man. Ya coulda warned us to wear our shades." He snarled at the chorus of laughter.

Jo was rifling around in her bag, looking for a notepad and pen to take notes in the briefing. She liked to keep track of things. A place for everything and everything in its place. That was another one of her mantras.

She heard the other guy's comment, but a bit of harmless sledging* was pretty normal for a police station. Oh, fashion police. She loved that show. [*teasing]

She wondered how far it was to the fashion center from here. She thought that was where it was all at. Beverley Hills. Rodeo Drive. Her eyes glazed over at the thought of all those boutiques.

Sean grabbed his new partner's elbow when she almost walked right by the door he'd just opened for her. Where the hell was her head? Was she that jet-lagged? "In here," He growled again. Fuck, this was not going to work. Maybe he should just quit now, while he still had some dignity left.

Jo stood and studied the seat of the chair her partner indicated she should take. Would it be too much to pull a tissue out of her bag and wipe it down? She was concerned because her suit was dry-clean only. He was already frowning at her. So she thought better of it.

Sean watched her eye the chair and smirked when she glanced at him and sat gingerly. Obviously more worried about her clothes than the job. God, this was gonna be awful. How the hell did they expect him to get anything done with such a girly-girl for a partner? And she was so freaking blonde... she'd look better on Ventura Boulevard than in south central.

Frost introduced her, having everyone in the room give her their names in return. "This is Federal Agent Jo Buckle from Sydney. She'll be working with us on a joint assignment." He smiled at her, "I see you've already met your partner, Jo. Is it all right if we call you Jo? We're kinda informal here."

Jo was a little taken aback at the group of officers; they really did all look like gang members. She was sure this was not an undercover section. But the Captain seemed polite and she didn't mind him using her first name. "Jo's good. That's my name," she told him and gave him one of her 100 watt smiles.

Most of the men smiled back, but her partner just sneered and grumbled something under his breath. Sounded like, 'snooty bitch.' He wasn't mad already, was he?

She was distracted when, "You're Australian?" asked one of the guys. "Say something... I love an accent."

"Whadya want me to say?" Jo asked.

The guy looked so pleased at her reply. "Wow."

Jo almost smiled at that. Such a pity she couldn't mix business with pleasure. If guys here reacted to her accent that well, dating should be a cinch. Like shooting fish in a barrel. Inter office romances were out; she had learnt that in the past, but she could probably find some time to have a naughty.

Demetrius slipped in and hugged Sean from behind. "Hey, bro! How's it hangin'...?" His mouth dropped open and he grinned wide and snickered when he got a look at what Sean was slouched beside. A real cutie, but a cop? No way.

He turned the smile on her and stuck out a hand. "Hi! I'm Demetrius... D to everybody unless I'm in trouble." He laughed.

Finally, Jo thought. Someone with manners. She checked him out while he was speaking. She had noticed the hug and thought that maybe other people didn't have rules against inter office romances like she did. It was always the big, burly ones with the facial hair that turned out to be camp as a row of tents.

"Jo," she introduced herself. "I bet your Mum used your middle name when you were really in trouble, too."

D laughed again, still holding her hand. "Oh, she surely did. She's quick, Sean. You two should do good together." He ignored Vetter's deep growl and grinned at her. "I'm Sean's usual partner, but you can borrow him for a while."

_I'll bet_, she thought. Well, if he was gay, she would have to be really careful. Oh. This could be great. If he was gay and lived in Southern California, he must love fashion too! Maybe they could go shopping together.

She took a second glance at her new partner. No, he really didn't look the clothes horse type. She sighed. Such a pity, he might have a good body under that big t-shirt. She patted D's hand. "I'll look after him for you," she promised. And wondered why the entire room broke out in snickers.

Frost called for quiet and the serious work began. He outlined what they already knew about the new smugglers. Jo asked if she could address the meeting to bring it up to speed.

"I've got some extra info you probably want to have a gander at… Brisbane is the capital of Queensland. So it is in the tropical north of Australia on the Eastern side. It is a big port city; lots of shipping containers. Nowhere near the volume of Singapore, but it would be the biggest in Oz. It is assumed that it is the headquarters for their operation." She gave them all the details the Australian Federal police had on how they thought the operation was working and why they needed to work together.

She noticed most of the guys having a perve at her while she was talking but she was pretty used to it. As long as they let her do her job.

"Well," she said to Sean as she resumed her seat. "That was a bit awkward. I felt like a shag on a rock."* [*stood out/obvious]

He stared at her blankly for a minute, complete confusion plain in his dark brown eyes. "Wha... ?" Then he leaned over to his old partner and whispered, "We got anybody here who can translate Ozspeak?" Making sure it was loud enough for her to hear.

D peered around Sean and grinned. "Ah, he'll get used to you. 'Course it might help if you weren't so... bright." Since the meeting was winding down, the smaller, dark agent glanced at his partner and back at her. "D'ja get coffee, yet?"

"Gawd," she exclaimed with a dramatic eye roll. "I would kill for a decent cup of coffee... what is this stuff?" She waved a hand airily at a take out coffee one of the other guys was holding. "It tastes like it has been reheated a dozen times, barely any real coffee left at all. Is there an Italian milk bar nearby? They know how to make coffee."

"A what? We gotta Starbucks in the mall..."

"Starbucks? They are closing down stores in Sydney; can't compete with the local stuff. It's not as dear* and tastes better too." [*expensive]

"Well, it's the best you're gonna get here." Sean snarled. "Unless you wanna drive all the way to Venice Beach." They were all walking back down the hall now. Vetter turned into his office, assuming she would follow, but not looking.

"So, pardner," Jo said in her best John Wayne accent. "Wanna show a pilgrim where this 'ere Starbucks is?" She punched him lightly in the shoulder for emphasis. Jeez, he was solid; built like a brick shithouse* under that oversized shirt. [*outside toilet]

He twitched, but only looked at her like she was looney. D had followed him as well and when Sean pushed one of her bags out of his way with his foot, he leaned over the desk to see what had made that scraping noise.

"Shit, man! You haven't even got her settled, yet?" He looked at the little blonde. "Are those the same clothes you wore on your flight? You must be exhausted... and wanting to freshen up?"

"Don't get your knickers in a twist D, I got changed on the plane and came straight here." She wasn't sure why, but she felt the need to defend Sean. If he was going to be her partner, they should look after each other. How did septics say it 'have their backs?' "I just haven't got around to checking in anywhere yet. Do you know if they arranged something for me... I mean do you have a standard place lined up for visitors who come to have a Captain Cook?*" [*a look]

"A what?" D answered. Sean was on the phone, still trying to ignore her. "Yeah, we could put ya in a safe house 'til you find your own place... if you're gonna be here a while." Sean growled.

Feeling mischievous, he turned on his partner. "Or she could stay with us. Candace would like company." Grinning into Vetter's thunderous expression, he laughed silently. "Shall I give her a ring? You could both come over for dinner... we'll barbecue."

"Awww sweet," Jo gushed. "Should I bring a plate*?" _So__ he can't be gay; Candace must be a girl's name. _[*contribute food]

"What th' fuck are you talkin' about?" Sean snapped. Turning to D, he ground out, "I'm sure we have an empty spot for her in a safe house... and she probably wants to rest... right, JB?"

"No, I'm good to go. With the jetlag it's better to stay awake and try to fit in with the local time. If I sleep now I will be ratshit tomorrow." She turned to D. "Sorry D 'a plate' means to bring some food... you know like a salad or a cake or something. But I would just love to meet your family. Do you have any kids?"

D grinned. "Yeah, a daughter and another on the way. Candace is gonna just love you. You're so cute."

"What about you Sean? You got a family too?" She wasn't looking at Sean's face as she asked the question; she was pulling another tissue from what seemed an endless supply of them from her bag. She spat on it and wiped Sean's boot mark off the side of her bag.

D gasped, Vetter's face had crumpled momentarily before darkening in anger. He jumped up and slammed out of the office and down the hall.

"Oh dear," she said as she realised she must have hit a nerve. "Is there something I should have known?" She kicked herself for not doing her own research before she came. She was just so excited to be offered this opportunity.

D sat down and motioned her to grab a seat. "Nobody told you anything about him?" When she shook her head no, he looked upset. "Sean lost his wife almost two years ago. She was murdered by members of a Columbian drug cartel. He lost his badge for 6 months. He's just recently gotten back."

"Oh no, and here I am carrying on like a galah. I just thought he was all growly because he got a gutful of piss last night... you know... hungover."

D snorted. "Nah, hopefully he's past that stage. You are gonna hafta write us up a list of Aussie slang, though. Half the time I got no clue what you just said." He grinned to make sure she knew he wasn't upset. More serious, he said quietly, "He never used to be 'growly' as you put it. Except when we took down a real bad one."

_Past that stage? Oh dear, did that mean he was a drinker?_ Jo thought. She studied D. "I assume you 'took down' the Columbian cartel?" She did remember reading about that case. It had been a huge coup for the DEA, after a couple of initial hiccups. She guessed Sean's wife had been a hiccup that typically hadn't made it onto the case details.

"Yeah, we did. But, if Sean hadn't gone off on a tear by himself, and come back for me and Sexy, it never would have happened. He actually brought Memo in after he lost his badge. And then we didn't see him for months. He just sat in his house and drank." D wasn't about to tell her, her new partner had also beaten a man to death with his bare hands.

Jo had picked up a couple of things from that statement; mostly the 'no badge' bit. Just what she needed, someone who thought the rules were flexible. But she went with the most obvious thing. "Sexy?" she asked.

D laughed. "A good friend... we all grew up together. But he stayed with what we knew. I guess you'd call him a criminal. But, he's always straight with me and Sean. Gives us good info and such." He snickered. "Makes Sean look like a pygmy."

Jo tried to keep the dismay from her face. She could have kicked herself; her ambition had landed her in the middle of something she was not sure she really liked. Gangs, rule benders and criminals? But she was not a quitter; no one had ever accused her of giving up too easily. She literally squared her shoulders and pulled herself together.

She thought about asking D how to apologise to Sean. She knew about loss; not directly but you didn't serve on the force and remain untouched. D did say it was two years ago.

She sighed. "Maybe if I had got that coffee earlier, I wouldn't have been yabbering on..."

"You couldn't know. Stacy was his life. Everything he did was for her. He always said, if it wasn't for her, he'd be one of the punks we throw in jail. She saved his life and he never forgot. They'd been together since they were sixteen."

"Tell me where that Starbucks is and I will give him some time to calm down. What's his poison?" She looked at her bags again. "My ports will be all right here? I mean it _is_ a police station. You'll stop anyone fossicking through my undies, right?"

D laughed again, shaking his head, dreads rattling. "Sure, if that means will I keep an eye on your stuff. And the shop is right down the street about two blocks. In the little mall on the other side. Sean drinks his black, probably a Venti. I'm the same, if you wouldn't mind? Need some cash?"

"She'll be right. I changed some at the airport. I need some fresh air, in any case. Venti is what? Large?" She shook her head. "Jeez what is wrong with me today? Don't answer that... it'll be written on the board right? I might not be able to speak septic, but I can read it."

"Septic?" He frowned, smiling. "It's Italian, I guess. That's what I was told, anyway."

"Never been in a Starbucks... but there's always a first time. I'll be back … won't go walkabout* on you." [*takeoff/disappear]

"Okay. I'll be here. Think about that list, though. Seriously." He grinned and waved her out.

Sean was leaning against the side of the building, when he saw a flash of bright pink vanish down the sidewalk. _Where the hell was she going? No luggage, so she'd be back. _ He sighed and drug himself back to his desk. D was still there, filling out reports. Seemed like that was all they did, lately. He had hoped this joint venture would brighten things up... but not this much, he grumped.

Jo did enjoy the walk. Sunshine was the best way to reset your body clock. She looked around eagerly. _LA; I'm in LA,_ she kept repeating to herself. Although this seemed to be a different part of it than she had expected. The office was set in the Edward R Roybal Federal Building, 255 East Temple Street, 20th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90012. It was a huge pink and white granite building in downtown right off Hwy 101. It had taken a good hour and a half to get here from the airport. The taxi driver said longer if the traffic was bad. She knew LA traffic was legendary.

The building itself was quite pretty and pink; no giant sign out the front advertising that the DEA was within; subtle she supposed. There was a large sculpture of two men reaching for each other. She supposed it was meant to look friendly but she chuckled out loud at the thought one could be trying to cuff the other.

The relatively new building was set in what looked like a standard office district with a few high rises around. Terrorism was an issue everywhere now, but the US had its own as well. Home grown guys had taken out Oklahoma City. One thing to be said for Australia; it was isolated. There was no one just across the border. Maybe the Queenslanders; they were always threatening to go feral.

She thought about Sean. First impressions had not been good. Emotionally damaged... just what she needed. She would have to be super friendly?

Their friend Sexy sounded rather interesting. If D was serious about the barbie* invite, she should ask if Sexy could come too. She may as well get it all over and done with early. No point in worrying about someone she hadn't met yet. And bigger than Sean? She'd like to see that. [*barbecue]

Sean groused at D, when he walked in. "You really had to invite her to your house, man? It's not bad enough I gotta work with her? I'm gonna go blind if she always wears shit like today. And I ain't gonna get a thing offa the street, either. No way anybody's gonna gimme nothing with that hanging over my shoulder."

D snorted at the image that comment provoked, though he doubted Sean realized what he'd said. "I invited Big Sexy, too. He'll keep her busy. Offa your back. And I can mention to Candace about hinting that we don't dress up. Will that help?"

"Sexy? He'll eat her up. Jesus, D, what were you thinking?" Sean sighed. "What do you want me to bring?"

"You can bring the beer, man. We got the rest."

Jo had found the coffee shop and was making her way back down the block; carrying the tray of coffees. She would need to find a nice pair of sensible flats if she was going to head straight out to work.

She hoped her small effort at an apology would not be rejected. Maybe Sean was just all growl? His bark might be worse than his bite? One of those big guys who was just a big softie underneath that gruff exterior. She sure hoped so.

They made it through the rest of the morning, Sean accepted the coffee with a mere grunt. When she looked at D, he gave her a thumbs up and he thanked her for his.

SAC Frost took Jo to lunch to get to know her a bit and see what else she might need. She enjoyed her conversation with him and he gave her a few pointers on normal operations in the unit. She discovered they did do a lot of undercover work. And she found out he was worried about Sean, hoped she could help bring him back up to speed; he was still proud of what the boy, (his word), had accomplished.

He brought her back to Sean after, telling him to find her a vehicle, a cell phone and get to the range. So the afternoon passed as well. Sean was his monosyllabic self, but tried not to grouse too much. He was going to have to work with this woman, might as well get used to her and her weird language.

She found that while she was away, they had cleared a desk for her and given her the basics; an in-tray and a few standard issue stationery items. She thought it might take a few days to get her a lap top or PC. Policing these days relied so much on paperless information.

D left before they got back from the range. Sean was silent, but impressed with her shooting. He hadn't said anything to her, just raised a brow when her target came back. She got the impression she had pleased him, though. She was capable of having his back. If he could get her to concentrate on the job.

It was a bit sticky when he brought her to his truck. It was so high, no step on the side, he actually had to boost her in. She was a little flummoxed when she felt his big meaty paws on her, but she could see it was probably meant to be helpful rather than anything else.

The truck reeked of stale cigarette smoke. And the floor was littered with food containers. She was tempted to ask him not to smoke with her in the vehicle, but it was his car so she just wound the window down as far as it would go and leant her head out to the side for some fresh air.

He just growled something unintelligible again. She hoped her ports would be okay in the back of the truck. She knew it was silly to worry about her bags but she liked them to remain unblemished.

She tried to keep track of where the car was going but it was just too hard. She would need a GPS if she was going to try driving herself around. Hopefully one would come with a department issued car. "Where are we going?" she eventually asked. "A hotel?"

"Nah, it's one of our safe houses. You can stay or find your own place. At least it's a roof until you decide." It was the longest conversation she'd heard all day.

"Should you tell me the address... just in case or is it a secret? Even from me?"

He gave her a look.

"Perhaps you could write it out for me?" Good lord, it was like talking to a wall.

"I'll program your GPS."

"Thanks." She gave up trying to make conversation and looked out the window again. It seemed like an okay suburb; not too much graffiti or broken windows and not too far from the office. She wondered where Sean lived.

"We're here," rumbled out of him. He jumped out of the truck and untied her bags, setting them on the side walk. "Here's your key. I'll be back in a couple hours."

Jo had climbed down from the truck herself; swinging herself out and hanging onto the top of the door. That worked. Sometimes being little was a pain in the ass. She smoothed down her skirt and took a look at her temporary home.

Sean was standing by his door, leaning on the side of the truck. She turned and collected all her bags herself. She opened the little gate and walked up the plain concrete path to a tiny porch. Just big enough to park one chair on to watch the neighbours.

He watched until she opened the door before hopping back in and roaring off. She sighed as she watched the truck depart. It was a wonder he didn't break the speed limit. Definitely no gentleman, this one...

But he did say he would collect her later. She had a look around inside the little house. The light switches were upside down. Who turns lights on by lifting the switch? Did they say 'turn up' the lights instead of 'turn on'? She knew Sean had grumbled about needing a dictionary but sometimes things were just as different for her.

She peered out the back windows. There was another house, backing onto this one. They all looked pretty similar, like they all started with the same basic design and people had made small changes over the years. Painted them differently or whatever.

The garden consisted of a few palms and some messy beds of geraniums. She supposed they looked after themselves pretty well. Didn't need the extra expense of someone to weed it all.

For just a minute, she overlaid an image of her own yard. She was only renting; house prices in Sydney were insane and it was pretty hard to get a mortgage with only one income. She replaced the palms with the gums (Americans would call them eucalyptus) of her yard and the ubiquitous Hills Hoist; that wonderful Aussie clothes line. She couldn't see a line in the yard. Maybe she was just supposed to throw everything in the dryer. Ughh.

She allowed herself a small moment of almost home sickness. Even if she went back, that house was no longer hers. She had dumped all her stuff in her parent's shed and given her notice. If she went back, it would be to somewhere and something else.


	4. Chapter 4

**The Barbie (part1)**

But right now, she had things to do; she needed to unpack, get changed and make sure she was ready before Mr. Growly came back to get her. The last thing she needed was to give him another reason to dislike her and he seemed to be looking for them. She checked her watch, it would have to be a very quick shower but she could manage it.

She laid out a favourite pair of boot cut jeans and a low cut, black long sleeved t-shirt. Her Timberlands would be comfortable and she wouldn't be sinking into D's lawn, if he had one, it didn't seem like lawn land; too dry here.. She wondered about where he lived too. Cop salaries can't be that good here either.

Sean decided to take another quick shower, although he really hadn't worked up a sweat. Keep Candace happy, anyway. _ Who am I kidding? She kept sniffing at me like she smelled something bad. I should quit again. _He also used D's wife as an excuse to change into a clean white, muscle T and snug denims, clean socks and sneakers instead of his boots.

Looking himself over, he sighed. Time to go pick up Miss Fashion Plate. He shuddered when he thought about what she would probably look like.

Jo brushed out her long blond hair and used a simple comb to hold it off her face. She found herself picking out her 'good luck' earrings. She felt like she needed it. She grabbed a brown suede jacket in case it got cooler later, rifled through her handbag to make sure she had her badge and wallet.

She locked her passport in the wall safe, checked through the house to turn off lights and thought she might wait on the porch. She thought about locking her new handgun in the safe too, but she was licensed to carry, so she shoved it in the handbag as well. She would have to get a holster for it. Searching in her bag for it was too ridiculous. 'Can you hang on a sec, mate, while I find my gun?'

Sean drove back to the safe house with the windows down, even though the evening was beginning to cool. Air out the truck a bit. Keep his new partner happy. Didn't know why he was bothering, but what the hell. Might as well start off the evening with her in a good mood.

She was sitting primly on the front porch waiting when he pulled up. _ Looks like a kid waiting for the bus. She's so tiny. Looks good in jeans. Damn._ It was the first he'd really looked at her and she was cute. Might even come in handy; she'd be really distracting.

Jo watched Sean alight from his truck and her mouth fell open for a second, before she pulled herself together. He had forgone the bulky shirt for a tight fitting singlet and the body she had suspected was under there was now on full display. She wiped hurriedly at her lip before she drooled on herself.

As he walked around the truck, she caught sight of his ass moulded into his jeans. _Oh my. _She mentally whacked herself. What was she doing? Other officers were off limits; and partners definitely so. There was no way she could do her job properly if she was checking his ass out continually.

She caught herself listing slightly to the side as he walked up the path. _Pull yourself together girl. _The front view was almost worse, because her eyes were drawn down... oh, this was worse. He filled out the front of his jeans too well. She had to stop sitting here like a stunned mullet.

Sean tried to avoid looking like he was obviously checking her out, but he noticed she looked rather stunned when he'd jumped out of the truck. So he guessed he'd made a better second impression than the first. She sure as hell had. Damn, the girl had a figure!

He even opened the door for her, this time paying attention when he boosted her in. Nice, firm cheeks. He made sure he got a good handful.

Jo held her breath as he hoisted her into the truck. She was sure he had copped a feel with those big, meaty paws. She glanced at the size of his feet. You know what they say about guys with big hands and feet. He smelt a bit fresher too. She was secretly impressed that he had made more of an effort. She found herself half hoping it was for her and not for his friends.

Sean didn't have much to say on the ride. He did point out a few landmarks, just to give her a feel for the area. And he told her a little about D's family. "You'll just have to figure out Big Sexy for yourself. There's really no way to describe him." He actually chuckled at that.

She had changed her makeup and loosened the tight hairdo, added something sweeter. Smelled great. He realized by not smoking on the way over, he could pick up whatever scent she was wearing. He liked it.

Jo noticed that he was not smoking at the minute. She appreciated the small gesture. But the pack was visible in the pocket of his jacket thrown over the back of the seat between them.

"Thank you for not smoking."

He frowned and snorted a rough, "You're welcome." But he didn't sound angry.

"Is anyone else invited to D's? Or just us?"

"Us and Big Sexy. Shit! I forgot the beer! We'll hafta stop on the way." He slapped the steering wheel and gusted a sigh. "Damn it!"

"Let me shout," she offered.

Sean scowled at her, looking confused again. "Why?"

"Sorry, I mean let me buy it," she explained.

"No way. I told D I'd bring it." He shook his head emphatically. He wasn't going to let her pick up the tab tonight. Especially since she'd already bought coffee.

"We can go halvies."

"S'okay. Not like I got anything else t' spend it on. And you might run short before you get your first check."

Jo was surprised by his thoughtfulness. She wasn't sure when her first pay would show up in her bank account, she had arranged an account with the sister bank here. "I don't like to show up empty handed but I will just have to owe you one. So where's the nearest bottlo*?" [*bottle shop/liqor store]

"Next block. You can carry a six pack in, if that'll make ya feel better." He actually gave her a little grin.

"A six pack? Pshaw. I usually carry a slab, I mean a case... no wait, you call them cartons, right?"

His answer was a raised brow and a snort. He pulled into the lot and parked. "Be right back." And he was gone. Half way across the lot, he turned and came back. "Did you want to pick up something for the house? Yours, I mean?"

"Sure, I like a glass of wine after a hard day. Do they have four litre casks?"

"Ya got me... let's go see. And it's case." He held a hand for her to grab as she leapt out of the truck.

She looked at his outstretched arm. He was really so much bigger than her. The random thought crossed her mind that she could swing off him like a kid on a set of monkey bars. No, she reminded herself, this was her partner... not her _partner. _She leant on his arm as she climbed down. "Crazy height for a car," she muttered. "What do you mean wine comes in cases? Not casks?"

"No. Cases, not cartons. Far as I know, wine comes in bottles." He was still marveling at how light she was. He could pick her up with one arm and fling her around with ease.

She made some small noise. "Well how long is a bottle going to last me?"

"Depends on what size." He looked at her. "And how much you drink."

"Might as well stick with beer." She patted her ass in her jeans. "But it does tend to make me fat. You'll tell me if I get fat right?"

"You really asking me to check out your ass?" He sounded stunned.

She blushed suddenly. She hadn't quite thought that one through.

For the first time, he truly smiled. Watching the colour creep up her face, he laughed out loud, he couldn't help it.

She felt warm inside that she had actually made him laugh out loud; he had a nice laugh. It sounded like a bit like a bark but suited him down to the ground. She smiled back at him and patted him on the arm. "Well, I won't be offended if you don't want to." She thought he had a beautiful smile too; it changed his whole face.

Not knowing what made him say it, Sean blurted, "Why wouldn't I? It's a really cute ass." Now he blushed and cleared his throat. "C'mon. Let's find that beer. We're gonna be late." He fled into the store.

She wasn't quite sure what to say to that, so she just took a deep breath and followed him into the store. She would have had to run to catch him up, he had disappeared so fast.

He startled her when he came around a corner behind her and asked in that deep growl, "You like white or red?"

"Red," she almost squeaked, as she held a hand to her chest.

"It's this way." He waved one arm, a full case of Corona tucked under the other. "Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you."

"No, it's my fault. I knew you were in here." She didn't say he was the only person who kept growling at her.

Sean waited for her to choose her poison and they paid at the checkout in the front. He loaded the beer into the back of the truck, strapping it in securely. Then he took her bottle and tucked it under his arm as he again lifted her into the seat. This time it should have been obvious he put his hands directly on her butt.

Jo _knew_ he was feeling her up that time. But she had kind of asked him to... hadn't she? She rolled her eyes at herself. This was trampling all over her carefully drawn work lines in the sand. Maybe because she was already so far out of her normal comfort zone.

She was a little curious about how she affected him too. She watched his glorious ass as it made it's way around the front of the truck. He stopped in front of his door and she had been around enough men to know that from the lowered hand and the pause in his gait, he had done a bit of a quick adjustment. She almost snorted. Good to know it was mutual then. No wait... rules... rules… she reminded herself.

Sean sighed as he rearranged himself quickly behind the closed driver side door. What the hell was he thinking? He hoped she hadn't noticed. He had to be more careful. He wasn't ready for any involvement. Was he? And a coworker? He had to be crazy.

Handing her the wine, he climbed in and they finally made it to Demetrius's home. Big Sexy's huge Hummer was already in the drive, so he parked out front on the street. He could see and smell food grilling already.

Candace was gonna be pissy, she hated it when people were late. Maybe he could divert her with Jo.

The little girl exploded out the front door as they came up the walk. "Uncle Sean!" She squealed. He barely had time to put down the beer before she launched herself at him.

"Rach! How's my girl?" He swung her up over his head and back down. "I have someone for you to meet. This is Jo. Jo, Rachel."

She grinned at him. Uncle Sean... adorable. "G'day Rachel."

"Are you Uncle Sean's girlfriend?" She looked Jo over carefully. "He needs one."

Jo almost burst out laughing at the stunned expression on Sean's face. "No, I am his new partner at work... you know like your Dad was with him. I'm from Australia. Do you know anything about Australia?"

"Sure, it's where the guy who plays Wolverine is from." She frowned. "Why isn't Daddy working with him any more?"

"They asked him to look after me, for a change. I think he is doing a great job so far."

"Why do you need looking after? You're a grown-up."

"Things are so different here for me; even your light switches are upside down and you drive on the wrong side of the road." She laughed.

Rachel's eyes got big. "No we don't. There'd be accidents if people drove on the wrong side."

Sean interrupted. "Why don't you go find your mom, honey. We're going to the back. I have to put the beer in the cooler. And introduce Jo to Big Sexy." He gave Jo a look. It clearly said the girl would keep her right there on the stoop all evening if she let her.

Jo put her arm around Rachel and shepherded her towards the house. "Wolverine huh? I think he is pretty cool, too. Did you know he can sing and dance as well?"

Before they made the door, a slender, pretty woman appeared. She gave Jo a thorough looking over. Then she turned to Sean, with one brow raised. He had frozen, mid motion when the door popped open.

"Ahh, Candace. I want you to meet Jo. Jo, Candace, D's better half." Sean smiled, a bit sheepishly. "Jo's from Australia, Candace. Really new to the area."

"Hi Candace. I really appreciate the invitation to your home." Jo beamed at her. She was still half amused by Sean's interaction with Rachel and he seemed terrified of this woman.

"Hello. You'll have to thank my husband for the invitation. I had no idea until he called. So you will be working with Sean, now?"

"Yes, that's the plan," Jo answered. "Sorry we are a little late." She raised the wine bottle and waved it at her. "My fault; I wanted some wine." She hoped that helped to get Sean out of whatever hole he thought he had fallen into with this woman.


	5. Chapter 5

**The Barbie (part2)**

"Well, come in. Let me get you something cold to drink. We can put that aside for later." Candace seemed to melt a bit. "So you are pretty far from home. What made you come so far?"

Sean sighed. He hadn't had a chance to really warn Jo about Candace. She was going to feel like a suspect being interrogated by the time she was finished. He hoped his new partner survived it.

Jo was rather pleased that someone wanted to know what she wanted out of this trip. "I feel knackered, I only flew in this morning. But I hope working here will look good on my resume... you know? International experience."

"So you're not staying?" She sounded almost pleased.

Jo laughed. "Not unless I get an offer I can't refuse." She wondered at Candace's reaction. Was it something Sean had done to her or was she just trying to protect him, in her own way? She supposed she had kind of stolen her husband's usual partner. Cops hate changes like that too.

D came through the back door and rescued her. "Hey, Jo! You gotta come meet Big Sexy. He's been dying to meet you. You girls can do the woman talk thing later." He snatched her away, his wife frowning at him.

On the way to the barbecue, he whispered, "Did Sean say anything to you?"

"About what?"

"Candace and Stacy were real close. And she's kinda protective of him. Doesn't want him to hurt on the rebound, ya know?" He chuckled. "Not that its likely, right?"

He patted her arm. "But, don't worry. She'll warm up."

"D, it's been two years, didn't you say? You sure she is not protecting him too much? Doesn't she want him to be happy?"

"You're very different from Stacy. It takes her a while to adjust to new things. You know how cops are with changes." He shrugged, "Don't sweat it."

"I won't; she's just trying to look after her own. I get that."

"She's upset 'cause you're moving into what she thinks is my space, too. Sean and I have always watched out for each other. It'll be an adjustment for us, too. But, we'll manage."

Jo felt a little foolish. She had never bothered to think about it from D's point of view. "Who have you been partnered with? I never thought to ask," she apologised.

"Nobody, yet. I'll being doing a lot of the organising... working inside... you'd think that would make her happy." He sighed, a long-suffering sound. "Sometimes I think that woman will never be happy."

Jo remembered the Captain telling her they had both been shot. "Can't get shot at your desk, can you?" she joked.

"Exactly," he agreed. "Hey, Sexy! Look who's here!" D bellowed at the extremely large man standing with his back to them. He turned around, tongs in hand, a frilly apron tied around his large frame. It was so much too small, it looked like a napkin.

His face broke into a huge grin and he wolf-whistled loudly. "Damn! That is one fine chica!" He turned to Sean. "'Bout time you stepped up from this scrawny niggah!"

Jo couldn't wait to see what Sean was going to say to that, or D for that matter. She was a little flummoxed to hear the 'n' word. But she guessed it was okay to call yourself that.

"Come here, darlin' an' lemme lookit you." The big guy hollered. "Whew! Yo sure yo wanna stay wit' dat li'l boy? I could make you real happy!" He leered at her, obviously playing around. She hoped.

She gave Sean a look. Sexy was certainly a lot of man and he appeared to be wearing the entire contents of his bank account in platinum and diamonds; at least she thought they might be diamonds. Rings, necklaces and belt buckle were all shining with them. Stud in his ear, too.

She gave Sexy a long eye fuck, in the spirit of the game and then she shook her head. "I dunno," she said. "You look like too much man for me, Sexy. I'll stick with bite size boy over here." She waved at Sean airily.

Sean had been doing his best not to snicker out loud and now he choked and turned several shades of red. D just howled and near fell down, he was laughing so hard. Sexy sighed sadly, "Damn! Dat's what dey all say."

She laughed. "I'll bet you do just fine," she told him as she patted his arm.

"I like dis woman. She's quick. And not afraid to speak up." He crushed her in a hug. "I let Sean keep you, for now. But if you ever change your mind, you just let me know."

"You'll be the first," she promised him and surprising herself; she hugged him back.

He turned to Sean as he was handed a beer, "You take good care of this little gem." he was serious, now. "She's one beautiful woman." He leaned down and stared Sean in the eye. "Good for you."

Sean huffed and punched him in the arm. Trying to distract everyone from that last comment. "Can't hold a candle to you, my man. You my first love, you know it." He laughed and Sexy joined him, rubbing the top of his head. "And dat is da truth."

He turned back to the grill. "Now git outta my way, 'for I burn somethin'."

"So you guys have know each other how long?" Jo was interested to have a little more background on them all. They looked like battlers to her; they worked hard for what they had. She would reserve her judgment on what exactly Big Sexy did. She was fairly certain she didn't want to know. "Tell me some embarassing Sean stories," she encouraged.

He groaned, Big Sexy chuckled, quaking all over. D replied, "Oh we all grew up together. Over on Avalon. In the projects." He handed Jo a beer and opened one for himself. "Pull up a chair. Let's see... where should we start?"

They talked about their childhoods, reminiscing and laughing over all the escapades. But through it all ran a thread of anger and almost desperation. Obviously, their lives had not been easy. No mention was made of Sean's wife.

Jo noticed that omission but given how clearly sensitive he was about the topic, she wasn't surprised. She looked at him a little differently now, armed with the knowledge that he adored someone that much. He didn't look the type.

Candace came out carrying salad and condiments, her arms full. She made a face at the guys lounging and laughing.

Jo jumped up to help her. Candace gave her a grateful smile as Jo unloaded her arms. Rachel appeared with paper plates and napkins.

Jo frowned at Sean; but clearly he was pretty good at ignoring female glares. Candace might have ruined him with that. D looked up as his wife stood, a hand on her hip and glared at him. He'd waited until they were about done setting up before making like he was going to get up.

"You good, hun? Want me to get something for you?"

Jo almost snorted; lazy bugger. She was in the school of 'if you needed something, just ask'. Men were not mind readers. In fact, they could remain blissfully ignorant of what you needed unless you just asked. Maybe they were more traditionalist here. The old, I earn the money, you look after the house set up. She wondered if Candace worked.

Candace did snort. "You all can get your lazy asses to the table." She turned and made a face at Jo. "Men!"

"Hey! I's workin'!" Big Sexy turned waving his spatula and looking hurt. Before either of the women could comment, he grinned to take the sting out of his comment.

Candace smiled at him. "Oh, I didn't mean you, brudda. Just them." She waved at the other two. Sean smiled a bit sheepishly.

"I woulda offered you a beer, Candace, but... you know."

Jo remembered that D had said his wife was pregnant. "How far along are you, Candace?" It might distract her a little and rescue the boys as well.

Putting her hand lovingly on her tummy, the other woman smiled. "Four months. And this one must be a boy... he keeps me up all night. Just like his father used to." She snickered at D's horrified expression.

"Are you going to peek? I mean find out the sex before the birth?" Jo queried.

"We haven't decided, yet. I'm scheduled for an ultrasound next month."

Jo rambled on, she must be more tired than she thought. "I don't think I would do it, myself. It would be nice to be surprised you know. But I can understand it, if you already have a girl..."

Lord, what was she doing, yacking on about her personal ideas to these relative strangers. She rubbed her eyes tiredly and took another swig of her beer. She had never really thought about having her own babies before; she was normally so career driven. This whole move to the US was making her rethink a lot of things. Maybe it was the hideous ticking biological clock firing up. Her friends had warned her about that, too.

Candace smiled, "I don't care. D says it will make buying what we need easier. I think he just wants to brag on himself if it is."

"Oh ho, the I'm a real man stuff, huh?"

All the guys protested, claiming they were real men. Everyone sat and began passing food around. It got quiet for a while, while they ate. The guys did help with the clean-up, throwing all the paper stuff in a big trash bag that Rachel dragged around.

The women retired to the kitchen to make coffee and continued chatting about female things. Leaving the boys sitting around the dying coals of the barbecue, still drinking. The three of them had nearly polished off the whole case.

D came in, carrying a sleeping Rachel and grinned at Jo, winking as he carried his daughter up to bed. Sean and Sexy were still sitting companionably outside; Jo could hear his quiet rumble occasionally.

She had wiped up a few things for Candace, but had no idea where to put them away. So she thought she would join the guys outside. She helped herself to one of the last beers and plonked her butt down in the chair D had vacated. She listened to them talk for a while but was fighting to keep her eyes open. She could no longer count how many hours she had been awake.

Sexy thumped Sean's shoulder, bringing him back from wherever he'd been. He pointed his chin at Jo and Sean turned. He watched her fighting to keep her lids from drooping. [i]_Time to get her back. I hope she can make it inside on her own.[/i]_

Jo forced her eyes open as her head jerked off her hand. She noticed the men's scrutiny. She yawned. "I need to get to bed, I'm really knackered*. Can you drop me home Sean, or should I get a cab? Are you right to drive?" She waved her beer bottle at him. [*tired/worn out]

"It has been a long day. I'm good. Coupla beers aren't gonna slow me down. Just gotta say g'night. C'mon." He turned and hugged Sexy. "Thanks for coming. And cooking. We'd really have suffered if we had t' put up with D." They both snickered.

Sean stood, and stretched, yawning. It pulled his shirt even tighter over his chest. He seemed completely unaware of how he looked.

Jo watched him and blinked quickly, before she pulled herself together, rose to her feet, hugged Sexy and threw her bag over her shoulder. She found Candace to say goodnight as well, and headed for the door. She was completely exhausted.

Sean followed and they said goodnight to their hosts. D had come back downstairs. He hugged them both and murmured something about seeing them in the morning. He was beginning to yawn, too.

Sean drove them back to the safe house, slower and more carefully than he had driven out. He was feeling the effects a bit, but wasn't about to say so.

Jo had lost the battle with her eyelids and had fallen asleep. Her head tilted back against the seat and she emitted a loud snort; waking herself up and looking about in a daze for a second, before she remembered where she was. She shuffled around on the seat and tried to wake herself up but it was hopeless. Her head nodded for a couple of beats and then fell back against the seat again.

Sean watched her fighting the effects of her long flight, the stress of the day and the alcohol. He grinned silently. It was kinda of cute... she snored. Probably her position, but it still made him smile.

He pushed gently on her shoulder to move her a little. Otherwise she would have a real stiff neck in the morning. She never even twitched, just slid across the seat.

When he pulled into the drive and turned off the engine, he figured she'd wake. She didn't. Just snuffled and sort of swatted at him as he tried to wake her. He sighed. Great.

He jumped out, catching his balance on the door. Wondered how many beers he'd drunk; he hadn't kept count. Then he walked around and opened her door.

"Jo? Wake up, girl. Jo?" It was a lost cause. He reached over her and fished around in her purse for her keys. Slipping the strap over his arm, he scooped her up and carried her to the door.

It took him a couple of minutes of juggling before he managed to get the key in the lock and the door open. He almost dropped her once, but she flung her arm over his shoulder without even waking. So he simply carried her in, kicked the door shut and mounted the stairs to the master bedroom.

He placed her in the middle of the bed and dropped her bag on the nightstand. He was about to head back out, when he took one last look back. Might as well take off her boots, at least.

Somehow, that ended up removing her socks, too. How sweet. her toes were painted to match her nails. Then he thought to loosen her waistband. What the hell, he took her jeans off and rolled her over, pulling the blankets out from under. [i]_Damn, she does have a cute ass.[/i]_ He shook his head. What the hell was he thinking? He tossed the covers over her.

He managed to drag himself out of there after staring at her for a few more minutes, very unpartner-like thoughts swirling through his mind. He was gonna get himself in real trouble if he wasn't careful.


	6. Chapter 6

**Jo**

Jo woke with a startle. She blinked and tried to work out where she was. It was pitch dark; the silence outside indicated it was the early hours of the morning. She sat up slowly. She was in bed... with no jeans on... what the?

She went to the toilet, washed her face and drank as much water as she could hold. She had a vague memory of leaving D's. She must have fallen asleep in the truck. Crap! Did Sean carry her inside? A small part of her was sorry she had missed that. She profoundly hoped she hadn't done anything embarrassing like try to kiss him or grab him. She didn't think she had; she was tired, not drunk after all.

She set her alarm; the last thing she needed was to be late for her second day.

She climbed back under the covers and closed her eyes. Wasn't he sweet? Tucking her into bed. Just as well it was like that and not the other way around. She had a ridiculous image in her head of her trying to put Sean to bed. Impossible. She did remember him stretching at the party. In fact, she thought that image might be seared into her brain for life.

_Not with the partner... not with the partner..._ she reminded herself before she fell asleep again.

**Sean**

Sean made it home quicker than he expected, driving on automatic. He kept going back to the swell of her ass, half-covered in black lace. He shook his head; got to get that image out of his mind. And he had a suspicion that her bra would have matched. Oh, God. Those pert breasts also covered in black lace? And she was so pale, it would have been a beautiful contrast.

He kicked himself when his mind told him he should have peeked while he had the chance. What the fuck was wrong with him? He reached for his jacket and shook out a cigarette. He actually stared at his hand when it took him three tries to get it lit. He was shaking like a damned teenager.

He thought about anything else for a while, going over work, old cases, office politics... anything to keep that image out of his head. It worked until he made it inside and pulled off his shirt. It smelled like her perfume. He held it up and sniffed deeply. Frowning, he chucked it across the room. He couldn't sleep now. He walked outside and sat on the beach, just staring at the ocean until dawn.

Why was he torturing himself? Yeah, she was pretty. Apparently, his body thought so, anyway. He did want her. But it was just physical, it had to be. It had been a long time since he had sex. He'd only tried once since Stacy and it had been a disaster.

**Jo**

Jo heard the alarm go off and dragged herself out of the pleasant dream she had been immersed in. She couldn't remember what it was about now, but it had been nice, she knew that.

She threw herself out of bed and into the shower. She dressed in a functional pantsuit with low heels and put her hair up in a tight bun. She studied herself in the bathroom mirror as she applied some makeup. She was shooting for the professional look today.

She was still trying to process the fact that she thought her new partner had put her to bed. He had pawed her on the butt and taken her jeans off to put her to bed. She wondered if he had checked out her underwear. She still didn't know if she had done anything embarrassing, but she didn't know how to ask. So she just wouldn't ask. If he said something, she would deal with it, but **she** wasn't going to ask.

So she was going to be professional. She had to get a cab to the office. She hoped her car would be allocated today. She picked up a coffee, walked to the office, flashed her badge and jumped in the lift to her floor.

Sean was not in yet. She had a computer today and a yellow post-it note with her access code and password written on it. And an underlined reminder to change it. She logged in and pulled up the files for this operation. Reading through it all again. It helped her to think. She stared across at Sean's as yet, empty desk. No, she couldn't ask him what happened.

She had to buy some more wine; they had given away her bottle to Candace. She didn't really mind. She was thinking about Candace and D and their small family. A baby. They changed everything. They had made D fall back to a desk job, she supposed. Life changed things. She had seen it happen with her friends. Jo was 28 and a lot of her friends were hitting the engagement, wedding, baby shower stage. Even the previously career centred friends were.

Jo was careful with her heart these days; her mother would have said too careful. She had been engaged at uni. He was the love of her life and she had adored him. She had even passed the 'meet the parents' test. But it wasn't until they started talking about how they were going to live after their marriage that she came to the stunned realisation that he fully expected her to give up working. He wanted her to be a housewife. He almost said 'no wife of his was going to work'.

She was horrified. She thought she knew him. He met her at uni for heaven's sake. She was spending years getting an education and he didn't want her to use it? He was proud of her, but all her degree was going to do was hang on a wall somewhere. Oddly he seemed happy for her to work while she was at uni; she was a waitress in a restaurant. That was okay now, but not after they got married.

She loved him; and that somehow made it worse. She couldn't have changed him; she tried, but this was something that turned out to be a central pillar of his belief system. She called the whole thing off. Her friends split into two groups; the career women were sympathetic and the husband chasers were astonished. He was such a good catch. So she had dated since then, but she had never let it get serious again. Lots of boundaries and lots of rules. That usually made sure they didn't get too serious.

So here she was; now 28 and she had effectively had one serious relationship. For some reason, the move to the US was making her re-think all sorts of things. Was she here running away from the engagement, wedding, and baby shower stages? She had told herself she was here for her career, but now she was actually here, she wasn't so sure. She was starting to think that she had done a lot of lying to herself.

**Sean**

Sean woke stiff and cold. He'd fallen asleep sitting in the sand. Crap, from the height of the sun, he was gonna be late to work. Great impression to make.

He dashed inside, showered, didn't bother to shave, no time. Found a clean, fitted button-down and black cargos. New pair of socks, boots. Took everything from his jeans and stuffed it all in his pockets. Threw them on the floor on top of the change that had spilled when he pulled his keys out of the front pocket of his jeans.

Ran outside, slamming the door behind. Jumped in the truck and roared down the road. He was gonna get caught in traffic, this late. Nothing to do about it except fume as he sat there in stop-and-go with the rest of LA's workforce.

He decided to stop and pick up coffee, anyway. Black for him and a cappuchino for her. A peace offering for being late. Yeah, right. He hoped she wouldn't get pissy about him undressing her. He'd not been quite all there. A little loose from the beer. He had behaved himself.

He spent the next hour thinking about things he really didn't want to. Just like he had all night until he'd passed out from sheer exhaustion. Where was he going? Career... life. What did he really want? He'd just been marking time for months now.

He sighed. It was coming up on two years and he knew Stace wouldn't have wanted to see him like this. He smiled a little to himself, sadly. She'd have slapped him upside the head.

Maybe he needed to go and have a chat with her. He hadn't been to the cemetery in a while. Thought if he stayed away, maybe it would help him forget. Stupid. He was never going to forget.

He fingered the ring that he now wore on a chain inside his shirt. He'd not been able to look at it on his hand anymore. Kept seeing it covered with blood. He shuddered even now at just the thought. He'd really lost it.

That had never happened to him before that godawful day, and he had made damned sure it never happened again. Even if it meant he had shut down feeling much of anything. Better that, than behaving like a raging animal.

Oh, well. Time to man up and get something accomplished. He pulled into the mall lot and parked. Ordered coffee and used their bathroom to wash his hands and rinse his mouth. He remembered she hated the smell of smoke.

He looked at himself in the mirror and shook his head. Looked like crap. Like he hadn't slept in days. Very impressive. He snorted. Why was he trying to impress her anyway...? piece of fluff. He sure as hell wouldn't be her type.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Sean walked in and put the coffees in the center of the desks. Took off his jacket and dropped it on the back of his chair. Pulled it out and threw himself into it. All without a word and before he even looked up.

When he finally did, she was staring at him. "What?" He groused. "Brought you coffee." He pulled his from the cardboard travel holder, flushing slightly. He glared back.

The SAC walked by, jerking to a stop as he noticed Sean. "You working banker's hours now, Vetter?" He did not sound pleased.

Sean's head dropped a little. "Sorry, boss. I, uh... didn't sleep well. Got caught in traffic." He lifted a hand. "I know, that's no excuse. Won't happen again."

The SAC frowned slightly, looking from Sean to Jo and nodded at her. His face cleared and he smiled. "How was your first evening in LA, Agent Buckle? You getting settled in okay?"

Jo beamed at the Captain, it wasn't his fault if Mr Growly was back, even if he seemed to be speaking more clearly today. "Sean gave me a lift to D's and Candace's for a barbie." She looked around to see if D was within hearing distance. "She's fiery," she added. "Met one of Sean's old friends... Sexy?"

The Captain looked surprised that Sean had taken her anywhere, let alone to D's but then the look changed to one of disapproval at the mention of the big gang banger. From that look on his face Jo thought she might have said the wrong thing.

"He's been... valuable to this section in the past..." the SAC conceded. It sounded like he didn't really want to admit that.

Her eyes slid to her partner; he looked like shit this morning. Maybe he was more hungover than she had thought; late too. Must have a headache this morning.

Some partner he was, not telling her anything or warning her about anything. _Don't talk about Sexy to the cap'n' might have been useful...but oh,no...' _She was glaring at him. And what was with the coffee gift? An apology for being late... or an apology for pawing her?

Frost turned back to Sean. "Make sure you get Jo to her car... I was told it's ready for her. Later, Agents." He headed down the hall, leaving two uncomfortable people not looking at each other.

Sean gusted out a sigh. "C'mon. Might as well get it outta the way. I'as gonna take ya on a trip wit' me, but not like that." He waved a hand up and down at her.

Her eyes narrowed. "What's wrong with the way I'm dressed?" she hissed at him across the desks.

"You look like a cop. Ain't nobody gonna say shit ta us, you lookin' like that."

"I **am** a cop!"

"Yeah, well the people who have the info I need don't 'specially like cops. In fact, they tend t' shoot 'em." He growled back. "You wearing a vest?"

"No..." She tried to study him to see if he was wearing one. To see if that was the right answer or not. She almost needed a separate procedure manual for working with Vetter. The tightness of his shirt seemed to indicate that he wasn't and he certainly didn't have one over the top.

"Oh, for Crissakes!" He nearly shouted at her. "Now I gotta take you back... wait, you do **have** one, doncha?" He was standing behind his chair at this point, gripping the back so tightly, his knuckles were white.

She clenched her jaw. She was not going to fight with him about this. She was the newbie, she hadn't done her preparation. It was unprofessional of her and now she had to wear it. She was **not** going to play this game. She took in a deep breath and rearranged her features into a bright, if forced smile.

"No need for you to come. The SAC said my car was ready. You don't need to put yourself out."

"Don' be stupid. Take you twice as long. 'Sides where we're going... if we ever get there... is halfway between. You can pick up the car later. When we get back." He yanked his jacket off the chair back and stormed out.

Jo resisted the urge to thump her head on her desk. She reapplied her lipstick to give herself a minute to calm down before she got in an enclosed space with _him_. She made a little huff noise and collected her bag. On the way out she greeted a few others cheerfully and put on her happy face. She patted one of them on the shoulder to make herself feel better. He smiled back at her and her mood improved a little.

She got the lift to the parking garage underneath the building. She glanced around as she exited. Oh, there he was; smoking like a chimney. Probably deliberately, just to piss her off. She sighed and walked over. She still got confused about approaching vehicles from the correct side. Americans were left hand drive. She wondered if she would ever get used to it.

Sean leaned his back on the driver side door, and lit a second cigarette. His legs were extended, ankles crossed, as if he were simply relaxing. But the tension in his big shoulders was pretty obvious the way they were hunched up and forward.

He heard her heels tapping across the concrete and even that irritated him. How did she expect to be able to run in shoes like that? Now, the boots last night, they were useful.

He thought about opening his door and just jumping in, but she'd never make it on her own. He sighed in exasperation and walked around. He opened her door with a sour expression and waited for her to get closer.

She studied him as she walked over. Mr Growly all right; he looked more bear-like today, all hunched up and pissed off about everything. He actually looked like he thought he was going to help her into the truck. She wasn't sure what to do. If she tried to get in by herself, she could look like a complete idiot but if she let him help her, he would be all put out again. She tossed a coin in her head and voted for dignity.

She approached the door and gracefully accepted his boost into the cabin. Determined to be gracious, she patted him on the arm. "Thanks for that Sean." But then she caught sight of her own hand on his arm, and she retracted it swiftly and blushed like a fire hydrant.

He was surprised by the blush... why had she? Embarrassed for what reason? And as pissed as he was, he felt his body betraying him. He took his time walking back to his side. He shouldn't be reacting like this. He was mad at her.

Oddly, that was exactly what Jo was thinking too. Curse her stupid face; blushing? She couldn't remember the last time she had even done it. Oh yes, she remembered now; she had blushed yesterday when he was complimenting her on her ass. It was just that his arm was so big and her hand had looked so small and light against his skin. Caramel; his skin was the colour of caramel. Was he that colour all over? And she blushed again.

_Fuck! _She swore to herself. She turned her face away so that he couldn't see.

Sean watched her blush again from the corner of his eye and turn her face. So she didn't want him to see? Was she actually feeling the same as him? Sure seemed like. Though it didn't show on his face, he grinned inside. Well, now... how interesting. He'd have to keep a closer eye on her reactions.

_He's my partner_. She was reciting in her head as she fixedly stared out the window.

They made it back to her place in good time, rush hour was past. Sean took a different route, just to see if she'd notice. He pulled into the drive and helped her out and followed her up the path.

"That route any faster?" Jo asked as she rifled in her bag for the keys. She was trying very hard not to look at him, but staring at his feet wasn't helping.

"You noticed?" He growled, but it sounded amused. "Yeah it is when there's traffic."

"It might take me a while to work it all out... I think I have a big, messy road map in my head and one day one road will connect up with another and pull it together a little more..."oh fuck. She was babbling. She never babbled.

"You got a GPS if you get lost." He offered. "Not always the best route, but it will get ya where ya wanna go."

"Yeah mine in Sydney used to say 'off route... recalculating...' a lot!" She had the door open by now.

He pushed in right behind her, not waiting to be invited or even giving her a chance to turn back. He shut the door firmly behind himself. And stood there looming over her.

She inhaled sharply and took a noticeable step away from him. _He's my partner_. She reminded herself. Vest, they had come for the vest.

"Should I get changed?" she offered. He had told her she looked like a cop. She almost blushed again at the thought that he would be in the house while she undressed.

She hadn't even unpacked. Her clothes were uncharacteristically spilling out of her bags. She was usually rabid about hanging things up, but she just hadn't had the time the night before or this morning.

"Where're your bags?" He growled. Looking around for them, obviously.

A small frown creased her forehead. He didn't think he was going to get a look at all her clothes, did he? She had thrown the bags on the floor of the bedroom, under the window. "Upstairs," she replied. "in my bedroom... you know." Oops; that reminded her that he already knew where that was.

He didn't even wait for her. Just turned and mounted the steps, two at a time. He had the big one open on the bed when she caught up to him.

She grabbed his arm, unthinkingly and then realised she was doing it again. Touching him. She dropped it like a hot potato. "Get out of my bags," she hissed at him. "Just tell me what to wear." Oh now; that was a statement she had never thought to hear come out of her own mouth. "Tell me what would be appropriate for your... friends..."

"They're not friends. They're informants... gangbangers, most of 'em. Thieves, murderers, drugrunners... like that." He turned around with a camisole in his hand.

"Don't you have anything that **isn't** fashionable?"

"This is LA. You trying to tell me no one here is fashionable?"

"Honey, we don't work in Beverly Hills. More like South Central... you know, like Watts? You have heard of Watts, haven't you?"

She snatched the camisole out of his hand. "Stop pawing my undies." She threw it into another bag. "Of **course **I have heard of Watts... I'm not stupid you know."

His brows rose and he snickered. "So, let's see what you got." _Oh, fuck! I did __**not**__ just say that! _He had to look out the window for a minute before he could get his face to stay straight.

Jo took some deep breaths. She had to get herself under control. He just seemed to be pushing all her buttons. He was in her space, touching her things. She closed her eyes and tried to think of what to say to get this whole thing back under control.

"What I had on last night? Was that okay? I mean it's dirty now, … but something like that would be okay?" She couldn't quite believe she was trying this hard. She felt like just biting his head off.

Sean sighed... "You wore those clothes for what, three hours... and they're 'dirty'? Yeah they'll do fine for today. You own anything, uh... I suppose you'd consider it 'trashy'?" He made the universal hand movement for a female shape and added, "Tight pants, low-cut, flashy top?"

Her mouth fell open. "Trashy?" she repeated. "This isn't a date!" Oops, she'd just insulted him again.

He sighed, long-suffering. "Just put on what you wore last night. I'll take you through part of South Central on the way back and you can see for yourself." He moved to the door. "And don't forget your vest." He vanished down the stairs.

After waiting for what seemed like an hour, Sean helped her into the truck again. _Can't wait 'til she gets her car. If I keep putting my hands on her ass, I'm gonna do something stupid, I just know I am. But, it's so soft and firm... how can something so tight feel so soft? And she blushed again. Damnit, Vetter, keep your head where it belongs! I know where I 'd like to put it... bet she's as sweet as she looks. Oh, fuck! _

He growled and shook his head, frowning. Stomped back around to his side and slid in. Turned the key and backed out of the drive. Took a deep breath. Sucked in a lungful of her perfume and his head spun. He opened his window. Shifted on the seat.

_Just concentrate on the ride, you jerk. Like to take her for a 'ride_'... _Goddamn it! She's gonna drive me crazy. Looks and smells like cotton candy, but she keeps doing stuff that makes me nuts. Oh, bad choice of words. They ache already. Crazy, she's making me crazy. _


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Jo picked up her clothes from the previous night and sniffed at them. They didn't smell too bad. Like most Australians, she showered every day, sometimes twice. She would just have to apply extra perfume. She didn't like smelling herself. She changed her bra as well; the black one from last night went much better under the black t-shirt.

She stood for a second taking a deep breath and staring at the camisole he had held in his big, strong hands... _he's my partner. _She told her self that for what seemed like the thousandth time.

She picked up her YSL Paris perfume and gave herself a decent spray. She supposed if she was meant to look 'trashy' she had better bulk up the eye makeup. She did two or three layers of mascara and applied what she considered too much eye shadow. Ugh she looked hideous. She released her hair from the tight bun and brushed it out loosely. She put a hair elastic in her jeans pocket just in case it got too irritating having her hair in her face.

She put her boots back on too. She had an image of him holding them in those caramel skinned hands and she mentally whacked herself again.

_He's my partner!_

She found her bullet proof vest in her bag and held it in her hand. She couldn't really wear it now. Was she supposed to just have it with her? She sighed again and thought that she would just ask him. Maybe if he actually talked to her about what he wanted, he wouldn't get so frustrated by her. _But oh no; he had to be all strong and silent._

What exactly was the point of dressing like a prostitute and then wearing a vest? Talk about giving yourself away. She sighed again and picked up her bag. He was waiting for her downstairs.

She held the vest up at him. "Should I wear this, or just have it with me?"

"Bring it with. Just keep it outta sight. You can leave it in your locker at work. They did assign you one?"

"Yes, they did." Not that she had much to put in it at the moment. Plus this was not a permanent transfer. She was here as long as the job lasted; that was all.

"So what's the plan?" she asked him.

"See if we can get any dope on this new group."

Jo assumed 'dope' meant information here; in Australia it meant marijuana or that you were an idiot.

"I'll follow your lead," she offered. "This is your...turf."

He just grunted, slipping a pair of dark shades from a pocket and onto his face.

He hoisted her into the truck again. This was starting to become a habit. She tried really hard not to blush that time.

**Info Gathering**

They drove the highway until they reached the 110-105 interchange. The big, black vehicle headed into the sun toward Westmont. Jo thought she recognised the turn as the same one they had taken the day before to the range. Before she asked, her partner rumbled, "If we have any luck and it's still early, you wanna hit the range again? We're headed that way."

"Sure," she replied and smiled at him. She felt like shooting something.

She watched the neighbourhoods change from middle-class to poor to burnt-out. It looked like a war zone now. The streets were empty except for the occasional derro, they called them 'bums' here and every couple of blocks there would be a group of tough looking guys hanging about.

The only women they saw either had a raft of kids tagging behind them or were obviously hookers. Standing near the groups of men in their high heels, minuscule skirts and non-existent tops. Or draped over the hoods of their cars. Makeup that looked like it had been applied with a shovel and way too much 'bling' completed their ensembles.

She saw one woman wearing a Lycra top so small that she had almost fallen out of the front of it. One side appeared to have snagged on her nipple and that was all that was holding her in it. She must be conducting an experiment on the elastic properties of Lycra, because she was wearing a pair of leopard print tights that had to be borrowed from a much smaller friend.

Her mother would have said they didn't look in the mirror before they left the house. She cringed at the thought of what her mother would say if she knew exactly where her daughter was right now. She knew her daughter was a cop but she didn't like to deal with the reality of it. Ignorance was bliss.

Some of the people hanging on the street must have recognised Sean's truck because they made rude gestures and called out obvious epithets, sometimes in what she assumed was English and sometimes in Spanish. He ignored it all.

He was much tenser now, a frown behind the dark shades, his hand no longer firmly on the wheel. Not nervous, but watching everything carefully. And he had changed the position he sat in; now he leaned back slumped to one side and his hand on the wheel was just draped casually over it.

Suddenly, he pulled over in front of a graffiti covered building, brakes screeching. It looked like it may have been the service entrance to a business at one time. He tipped his chin toward her and his basso growl sounded. "Stay in the truck. Doors locked. Keep your eyes open."

With that, he leapt out and sauntered toward the open door of the building. Everything about him had changed. Voice, attitude, he even walked differently. Jo noticed the change in his whole body language. He was like a chameleon.

A couple of men in over-sized t-shirts and very baggy pants appeared as he closed on the entry. Men? They looked like boys... but they were openly carrying automatic weapons.

Sean spoke to them and one went back inside. The other one stepped in front of him, blocking the entrance. Sean just stood there looking bored, leaned back with his arms crossed. It made the heavy musculature even more obvious. And he had another butt hanging off his lip.

In just few minutes, the first man/boy returned with an older individual. This one had even more tattoos than the others and looked meaner. If that was possible. Definitely not friendly.

He and Sean exchanged a few comments and things got a bit nasty.

Jo opened the window a little so that she could hear what they were saying. She didn't really appreciate being told to stay in the truck, but she was trying to be co-operative. She wasn't sure what to do if he looked like he needed back up.

The man had looked around Sean and said something he must not have liked. Mr. Tattoos had gestured toward the truck and laughed. Jo heard something like 'puta' and Sean suddenly reached out and cracked the guy across the face, knocking him to the ground.

Jo jolted in her seat and reached for her gun. She kept it below the window sill of the truck. There was no way she could take out all of the guys, and more could join them at any minute. Plus she was meant to be trash, not back up. She prayed that Sean knew what he was doing. He had just snapped. She watched him but tried to look uninterested.

He moved like a snake striking, so fast she almost didn't see it. And before his homeys could react, Sean had his pistol pressed to the man's temple. He growled, "Back the fuck off! Or he's gonna resist. An' ya can tell his momma it's your fault she's burying her only son." He slapped a pair of cuffs on the man and hauled him back to the truck, slamming him into the side.

The others watched, screaming curses, but stayed where they were. Several more armed, tattooed people exited the building, but were held back by the first two.

Sean shoved the man to the back of the truck and was murmuring questions in a quiet, but fierce snarl. He slammed him against the tailgate a couple more times.

"A'ight! a'ight! Take it easy, homes. Dese new t'reads." The man's voice dropped and now he murmured unintelligibly from her distance.

He shook his head no repeatedly, every time Sean asked him something. With a final snarl and body slam, Sean uncuffed him. Hauling him by the collar, he dragged Mr. Tattoos back to the cracked sidewalk and tossed him at his friends. Then he calmly slid back into his seat and drove away.

Jo exhaled loudly. "What the fuck was that?"

"That was me getting information on the new smugglers. 'Nando's a snitch. Mid-level gangsta. I got some dope on him that would put him away for a looong time. So evr' now an' then I ask a few questions and he gets me answers." He grinned without looking at her.. But he seemed to have returned to the Sean she knew.

"So his 'reward' is getting body slammed by you?" She blinked quickly at the thought of getting body slammed by Sean.

"Gotta keep his rep intact." He snickered nastily. "These ain't kids an' that ain't no playground."

She rolled her eyes. He had moved so fast for such a big man; it was spectacular. _Partner, _she reminded herself again, only this time she must have said it out loud.

"Huh?" Now he looked over. What the hell? Why was she blushing now?

She blushed. _Fuck, she was an idiot!_ "Partners," she repeated and then again a little louder. "Partners... we are supposed to be partners. What if I had started shooting? Huh?"

"But you didn't. You got good instincts." He actually smiled at her. "Hey! You hungry? There's good little Mexican place near here. We can shoot after."

Shoot something? She sure felt like shooting something... in the ass. She pulled herself together. He seemed kind of excited after his bit of physical activity. She smiled back at him; he did have a nice smile. _Dammit girl... don't go there!_ "Lunch sounds great," she finally managed to sputter out.


	9. Chapter 9

**The Fiasco**

"Ever had real Mexican?"

"Well, I've eaten Mexican but whether you would consider it 'real' or not, I don't know. There is a place in Sydney called 'That new Mexican place'. The name is clever and I like _their _food."

"Excellent!" He made some more confusing turns and pulled up in front of a small store-front restaurant. It looked rather like someone had converted the first floor of an apartment building. It had a striped awning over the entrance and a sign that read simply, 'Mamacita's".

Sean left his truck right in front and ran around to help her out. He almost fell over when he pulled the door open. Instead of the hand reaching for him that he expected, sweet, apple-round cheeks in tight jeans were nearly shoved in his face. He choked.

Jo was muttering away to herself. "I can't STAND all this shit on the floor... it's getting all over my shoes... " She turned herself around with her hands full of take away [takeout] containers and dead coffee cups, to catch sight of Sean's face. She promptly blushed again. She held the handfuls of garbage up at him.

She realised with her hands full, she couldn't get out of the truck. Should she pass it all to him? Or fall out on her face?

_Oh, that is so fuckin' cute!_ He just reached in and grabbed her around the waist. Setting her on her feet, but pinned between him and the truck. He grinned down and rumbled, "I can do that, you know. But if I get a show like that every time, I may just have to eat in the truck **more **often."

Jo was holding her breath. A minute ago she was imagining being body slammed by him and now she was all pressed up against the truck... and _him_. And was he flirting with her? She sucked in some air and even that was a mistake, because all she could smell now was him. She froze.

But then some cold coffee dribbled out one of the cups and straight up her arm. She let out a horrified squeal. "Eep!" she said. "Bin? Where's the bin?"

He laughed at her expression and tried to take some of the trash, but it only spilled more on her. "Oh, shit!" He backed away. "Sorry." It was the first time he had apologised for anything. "Over there." He pointed at the sidewalk barrel.

She scuttled over and dumped the rubbish safely in the bin. Sean was coming at her, his hands full of paper napkins. She had started looking in her bag for another tissue to wipe her arm with, but his movement caught her eye. She grabbed the napkins.

"Oh thank you," she gratefully told him and patted him on the arm. She looked down, saw her own coffee covered hand on his. "Fuck! I'm sorry." Now she patted _him_ with the napkins as well. "Oh..." she muttered.

He just stood there, watching her, looking bemused with a silly grin on his face.

Jo closed her eyes and tried to pull herself together... again. She had to stop pawing him. This was ridiculous.

"Maybe we should both wash up first?" she suggested.

"Nah. We'll just get all sticky again." He grabbed her elbow and steered her inside.

As he pushed her in front of him, his hand slid from her elbow to the center of her back.

She got a horrified look on her face. "Oh, no. I really need to wash my hands." It might have been his garbage, but still... and was that his hand on her back? She could feel the warmth through her shirt. "Especially if you expect me to eat with them." She waved her hands around in the air for emphasis.

Sean reeled back when her hand flipped up and caught him right across the bridge of the nose. His glasses went flying off somewhere between the tightly placed tables. A strange inarticulate noise erupted from him, between a snort and a squawk.

"Oh NO!" Jo cried and promptly smacked both hands over her face. Then she realised they were dirty and she made another noise "Ewww," as she pulled her hands away again, this time smacking Sean across the stomach.

He hadn't been watching her, turning to see where his glasses had gone and knocked her right into the closest table. Fortunately it was unoccupied and only the condiments fell to the floor. It did make an awful racket.

She grabbed at the edge of the table; righting herself and it, but she watched in horror as all the bottles slid off the tilted edge. The tomato sauce smashed spectacularly.

She jumped back so it didn't get on her shoes and looked up at Sean.

She frowned for a second at the red on his face. How could he have sauce on his face? "Oh my GOD!" she squealed and reached for his face. "I made your nose bleed." She grabbed some napkins from another table. "Omigod..."

Instinctively backing up as she lunged at his face so suddenly, Sean put one foot right in the puddle of tomato sauce and promptly fell on his ass. He just sat there, looking stunned. Everyone in the place was staring at them by now.

Jo's momentum carried her forward. She tried to stop when Sean fell, but then she slipped when she put her foot down on something and she started to fall towards him. She landed on top of him with an 'oof'. She had instinctively put her hands out and she grabbed at him.

They faced each other; she was splayed out on his chest. She stared at him and then she snorted and erupted with laughter.

Sean grunted when his new partner landed in his lap. Her hands hitting his chest had pushed him onto his back and now she was lying on top of him. Those pretty blue eyes only inches from his and sparkling with mirth. He held her waist as he tried to decide if he wanted to laugh with her or kiss her.

Well, he knew what he wanted, but the floor of the neighbourhood bodega just didn't seem the right place for a first kiss. So he chuckled. _First kiss? Am I planning on kissing her more than once? Oh, yeah._

He gently pushed her to a sitting position. His ass was wet, soaked in the sauce. His face was beginning to hurt, too. Probably should find some ice.

Jo was so completely aware of Sean's body. She couldn't get up without touching him again. She was not sure what had passed through his eyes while they were staring at each other; she had been trying not to laugh and had lost the battle, but she felt that laughing was not Sean's first response. She still had the napkins in her hand but she was doubtful about pawing at him again. Especially as she was not sure what that first response had been.

She climbed to her feet, with a helping hand from Sean. She pressed one hand into his chest to push herself back. Solid; he was solid. And warm.

"Oh lord," she apologised to him for what seemed the tenth time. "I am so sorry... I don't know what happened..." She flailed her hands around for a second and then thought better of it.

Especially as he growled at her, "Don't do that!" and ducked. But he was still laughing.

"Let me look at your nose... is it all right? We should get some ice to put on it... this is a restaurant … they'll have ice." Babbling again. She gave him the napkins. "Plug it up with these," she instructed. _NO touching. _"It's almost stopped bleeding... oh … your glasses. Where did they go?"

She turned and bent over to look along the floor, under the tables.

"I'm bleeding?" He groaned. "Just great! How'm I supposed to explain this?"

"Here they are!" she cried and emerged from under a table with his glasses clutched in her hand. She passed them to him nervously. "We should get a table... instead of falling into one," she suggested.

The waitress was walking over, laughing until she saw the blood on Sean's face. "Oh, Madre de Dios! What has this gringo done to you, Sean?" She glared at Jo and practically smothered Sean in a hug, pressing his sore face right into her bosom.

Jo frowned at her. "Hey," she argued. "He knocked me into the table in the first place!"

Sean extracted himself from the waitress. "She's not a gringo, Maria. She's my partner." He finally managed to make it to his feet. He stood there looking very uncomfortable.

"I think we may have to do take-out, JB. I'm soaked. Gonna have to stop home and change."

She studied him. That seemed like a good idea; they were both a mess. And she had developed an irrational dislike of this woman. She leant sideways and checked out his ass. "Oh yeah," she agreed. "Sauce everywhere." The thought crossed her mind that he might take his pants off to sit in his truck. _Bad girl. Partner!_

Sean ordered and sent Maria to fetch him some ice for his face. It was really beginning to throb. He had a feeling he was developing a headache from the jolt he got hitting the floor so hard, too.

While they stood by the register, the owner also came out to check him. She wiped at his face, then his pants with the large stained apron that was wrapped around her stout frame. Sean introduced Jo to Mamacita and shooed her back into her kitchen. He let her carry out the bags of food while he held the ice to his nose.

He just pulled his jacket off the back and tossed it on the seat before jumping in and squishing onto the seat. He made a disgusted sound, he'd left her outside. He slid back out and walked around. Put their lunch on the seat and lifted her in. With a little squeeze, just for the hell of it.

He figured he deserved a little fun after the mess she'd made of him... and then she laughed about it. Little minx.

Not wanting to spend any more time than necessary grinding the red sauce into his leather seats, he hit the freeway as soon as possible. In less than a half hour, he was taking the Malibu exit.

Jo felt awful. What a mess she had made and all because she was trying to tidy up. It was ironic.

"Food smells good," she said in attempt to make conversation. He had introduced her to everyone and been really nice. He had even got back out of the truck, to help her in.

"Idz da besht." The swelling was making him sound congested.

She had noticed the Malibu turnoff. "Are we going to your place?" He lived in Malibu? On a cop salary?

"Yeah. Nod far now." They were were almost to the beach, you could smell the ocean. There were lots of condos and and apartment buildings, all pale colors or white. The entire area was so bright and clean compared to where they had been earlier.

This was more how she had imagined LA to be; beaches, surf and sunshine.

Sean turned into the drive of one of the big white buildings. He slid off the seat, taking the bags of food. "You maeg id, ogay?" He called back over his shoulder. His keys were jingling as he turned them in the lock of a corner unit.

Jo scrambled out of the truck and followed him; looking around at the apartments as she went. She wondered if he had lived here for a while. Had he lived here with his wife? She was not game to ask, given she had upset him so much last time.

A sudden chill occurred as she wondered if this was where his wife had been shot? He couldn't still live there could he? If something like that had happened to her, she didn't know how she would handle that. Stay or go? Be reminded or forget.

She saw his broad back with the red-stained ass go in the door and she hurried to follow him. He went straight through the house to the kitchen and plopped the bags on the counter. "Maeg yourseff comford'ble. Dhere's dishes in the cabineds. Cold sduff do drink in the fridge. I godda ged oudda dese pands." He headed upstairs.

Jo unpacked the containers onto the kitchen counter and searched the cupboards for plates. She looked around for somewhere to eat and decided the table on the deck looked good. She got a drink of water for herself. She wasn't big on sodas as yanks called them.

She sat outside for a few minutes and wondered what was taking him so long. She went inside and heard the shower running. Sean... in the shower... Jeez she thought she might drool. The food smelt great, but she didn't want to open it and make everything cold before he was ready to eat. So she sat, stared at the sea and waited.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Relaxed after getting clean, Sean wrapped a towel around his waist. His stomach growled and he automatically headed downstairs to find the food. Banging around in the kitchen for silver and a glass. He turned around and came face to face with his new partner.

It was a toss up as to who was the more shocked. He just stood there, frozen like a deer in the headlights. His head was more fucked up than he'd thought if he had forgotten she was here. Well, he hadn't forgotten his partner was here, just that she was a** she. **D had stopped here with him all the time. No biggie.

Jo had heard noise in the kitchen and ducked inside to ask him how his nose was, when she literally ran into him. And all he was wearing was a towel.

Things seemed to be happening in slow motion. She could see her own hand reaching out to touch him again. And she couldn't seem to stop it. Her hand pressed against his flat stomach before she managed to snatch it back. She blushed again, but this time she felt other parts of her body warm up as well.

To keep her from crashing into him, Sean had grabbed Jo by the shoulders. Even after she had removed her hand from his abdomen, he still held on. He couldn't seem to get his hands to open up and let go. He kept staring at her as a deep pink flush started in her cheeks and moved down her throat and over her chest.

Oh, God! She did feel it, too. His mouth dropped open slightly and he began to lean toward her in slow motion. He felt like he was falling into those blue pools.

Jo could feel his hands on her shoulders; he was gripping her quite hard. She couldn't pull back so she put her hand up towards his face. She had to do something. The option of climbing him was just not on. She looked into his eyes and touched his face. He looked like he wanted to kiss her and that had rocked her to her core; now she realised that he had that look on his face at the Mexican place.

They were so close now, he could count her lashes and each and every tiny freckle that dusted her nose and cheeks. Adorable. Then she touched his face, so gently. Just like Stacy... _Oh, my fucking God! What the hell am I doing! Not here! Oh, God, not here! _

Sean's face suddenly looked horrified and he moaned; low and hurt-sounding. He shoved her away and fled back up the stairs. A door slammed, then silence.

Jo stumbled where she stood. She had not meant the facial touch to be intimate, she had just wanted to remind him about his nose... but the pain that had passed through his eyes had taken her breath away.

He had looked utterly amazing in just a towel. The only other thing he had on was a chain around his neck. She replayed in her head the image of her hand reaching towards him and she realised that a ring hung from that chain. Oh fuck! It had to be his wedding ring.

Could this day get any worse? Did she go after him or give him some time to get himself together? She didn't know him well enough to guess how he would deal with this, but she knew someone who did. She darted outside and pulled her phone out of her bag. She had D's number. Fuck; what was she going to say? Sean's acting weird after he banged his nose? Was this weird for him? How the heck did she know?

Would he appreciate her dobbing on him; telling his friends...

She put the phone away and she decided to just deal with it herself. He was her partner and they were supposed to deal with stuff themselves; not run off and get help from others. Besides D was desk bound these days. Could he even come out and help?

She went to the fridge and got a soda for him. She looked at it for a second and then she put it back and got a beer instead. She climbed the stairs and approached the closed door.

"Hey Sean," she called out. "Didya want a beer?" She rapped sharply on the door. "I'm starvin' … I'll give you five minutes to get downstairs or I'll eat it all, before you get there."

"Eat what you want. Just leave me alone for a minute." He sounded muffled and throatier than usual.

Jesus. She felt so bad. She felt like giving him a hug, but that would be a very bad idea. "So did'ya want the beer, then?" She thought he might have a headache too. "What about some aspirin?"

"No." Nothing else.

She sighed. He had looked so damaged. "I'm sorry... this day has been such a clusterfuck... I've whacked you in the face... made your nose bleed... probably scratched your sunglasses and now I've upset you... " She waited.

No response.

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry... for whatever I did to upset you... I just wanted to ask how your nose was..." _For fuck's sake Jo shut up_, her internal voice told her. "When you're ready... I'll be on the deck. I promise to leave you half... you must be hungry." She faltered to a halt.

Then she turned and headed back to the deck.

"Not your fault." She barely heard it as she stumbled down the stairs.

She was still eating slowly, having lost most of her appetite, when he appeared in the doorway.

He had two small glasses and a bottle of clear liquor in his hand. Vodka? In the middle of the day? And on duty? Oh, yeah and he was dressed.

When he reached the table, he dropped the bottle, it was tequila not vodka, on the table. Plunked a glass in front of her and handed her a cut lime. He sat opposite and poured for both of them. A shot for her, filled his glass to the brim.

He grimaced more than smiled and said, "Here's to clusterfucks." Then he lifted his glass and knocked it back. Refilled it and looked at her.

All of this was against several of her rules, but she couldn't get rid of the memory of that look in his eyes. She reached for the glass and threw back the shot. "Gahhh," she exclaimed, sticking her tongue out. "I hate tequila. Are there any jalapenos in there?"

He pawed through the bag, handing her a small, foil-wrapped package. He also pulled a sweet cinnamon-scented bread from the bag and pulled some pieces off. He popped them in his mouth between shots. He refilled her glass, too.

"Struth, you were right... real Mexican food... this is fabulous," she said with a mouthful.

"Glad something went right today." He gave a sad little grin.

She lifted the other glass. "Are we clocked off?" she asked.

Sean sighed. "We are really gonna have to work on your English." He started to laugh. "That's funny. You speak English, I speak English... and we still don't understand each other."

"Pfft," she said. "You _think _you speak English," and she whacked him in the shoulder with the back of her hand. Then she froze and blushed again. "I don't even know what you were saying to those guys in the street... was that Spanish?" she babbled.

He snorted and almost choked on his next shot. "Nah, gangsta rap. Whole 'nother language."

She threw down her shot; made another face and managed to speak. "So what did he call me? That guy you hit?"

"You don't really wanna know." He wasn't quite slurring, but he was getting very relaxed. The bottle was almost empty.

Jo drank down another shot and thought she might fall over soon. At least she had eaten. She eyed off Sean. He looked a little better. Not that alcohol was the answer and she certainly couldn't do this every day, but she was glad he had got out of his foul mood. And really, it was up to him to do it himself; no one else could tell him what pace he needed to move at.

Sean looked at the now empty bottle. When had he finished it? Fuck, he was messed up. He gazed at Jo. Now what?

"Whaddya wanna do now? Can' go t' th' range. Too fucked up. Offish, same." He was bleary.

"American football," slurred Jo. "I do NOT understand it...I've tried... but I just don't get it. Let's watch a game and you can tell me all the rules... there must be a game on somewhere... oh hang on... what season is it... is it baseball season?"

"Yeah, but I gotta football. Le's go play on the beasch." He staggered up and wove into the house.

She snorted. "I've already tackled you once today," she pointed out.

"Zackly. Now ish **my** turn." He leered sloppily at her. He'd returned with a football, that looked pint-sized in his paws and he smacked it against one palm. "I'll pash, you resheive... then I get t' tackle yas." He chuckled. "Should be fun."

Jo blinked at the thought of him tackling her. He was so much bigger than her; he would flatten her into the sand. She had played one or two back yard games of rugby and she didn't think one-on-one would be that different.

Maybe she could just run him around until he fell over. She burst out laughing at the thought; she'd have to leave him on the sand. No way could she drag him into the house if he _did _pass out on her. She thought she ought to check.

"Are you going to pass out on me?" she checked.

"Pash out **on** you? I don' thing so. Wanna fin' out whoosh fashta? C'mon." He staggered out onto the sands, heading directly for the water.

Jo stood, toed off her boots, stripped off her socks and ran after him. He didn't stop until he was on the wet sand in the very edges of the waves. "Run tha' way!" He waved away down the beach smacking the football while he backpedaled in the opposite direction.

Jo jogged away from him, in the direction he had waved. "Hit me!" she shouted. He tossed the football right at her, surprisingly accurate for a drunk.

"Oof," she exclaimed as the ball smacked into her. Lucky she did have brothers. She caught it well. She looked up at him and he was jogging in place, right at the waters edge.

She dropped the ball onto her foot and punted it back to him. She couldn't throw it that far, but she could do a good Aussie Rules punt.

Sean's head went back as he looked up to follow the ball. His body twisted and he began to run after it. He turned again, as he came underneath and his arms lifted.

Unfortunately , he had moved down the beach and a wave came in just as he turned.  
>The drag from the deeper water caused his feet to tangle and he fell over backwards with a yell. He came out of the surf spluttering, wiping the water out of his eyes... but he had the football clamped in one huge hand.<p>

"Oh fuck," Jo breathed. She started to run towards him. She stopped just in front of him unsure of what to do.

He sat there, laughing until a second wave threw him forward. He climbed out of the water and flung spray at her. And the wet football. He seemed a bit sharper.

She caught the ball reflexively and then let out another squeal because it was, of course, saturated. "You bastard!"

He roared with laughter, face completely transformed. He actually wrung some more of the sea out of his shirt and flung that at her, too. He squelched as he stalked toward her. There was a strange, very mischievous look in his eye.

Lord save her, he was all wet again. She saw that look and she was still holding the wet ball, so she lifted it high above her head and flung it at him; she 'branded' him.

Sean just let the soaked ball bounce off his chest with a splat and lunged at his new partner. She deserved a good dunking for making him run into the surf and a dark, naughty part of his mind couldn't wait to see her soaked to the skin.

Wet t-shirt and jeans... nice. He really never even considered that she might not appreciate it.

Jo saw him lunge for her and she emitted a squeak and tried to run.

"Sean," she reprimanded. But he tackled her around the hips and they both went down. "No! These are D&G jeans!" She **hated** getting her clothes wet while she was wearing them. And wet sand? Ughh.

He wasn't listening, too concentrated on getting up with her in his arms. It wasn't easy with her squirming, trying to break free. He ended up staggering into the ocean and just falling down, drenching them both. He was grinning like a fiend, too.

She smacked at him, but it had no effect other than her breaking a nail when it caught on his shirt. She tried to kick him but he didn't let go.

She clambered to her feet, standing in the surf with her hair all over her face; her arms held out to the side and she glared at him. "You complete bastard!" she swore at him. She tried to wipe the wet hair out of her eyes, but just got more sand on her face.

She was momentarily distracted by the sight of a saturated Sean; he would have won the wet t-shirt competition hands down. And then she just laughed. There was no point getting upset now. It was her dodgy kick that had sent him into the surf in the first place.

Sean had stopped laughing. He hadn't stopped staring, though. He stood in front of her, weaving slightly with his mouth hanging open. He looked like he'd just been sucker punched and didn't have the sense to fall down.

"Uhhh", he kind of moaned. He swallowed hard, his eyes traveling down and then back up her. They glowed. And when they reached her face, he blushed. He simply stood there, numb.

Jo didn't see him. She was busy brushing wet sand off her thighs. "Oh no," she wailed. "I broke a nail!" She pointed at him. "This is your fault!" She noticed his face now. He seemed to have sobered up a little.

He just stood there, swaying a little and her eyes travelled down his body; she couldn't seem to look away. Her internal voice was screaming at her now. Oh what the hell did she do now? _He's my partner. And he is sporting a serious hard on._

She rationally decided it was just a physical reaction; water+abrasion=stiffy. She had seen recently that he was not in an emotional place to deal with it and besides she was his partner and it was against **her **rules. She reminded herself for the umpteenth time. She decided to just pretend it hadn't happened. The last thing he needed now was shit from her.

"You had better have two showers."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Sean looked at the soaking wet, curvy woman, and his brows shot up when she mentioned showers. He licked his lips and said 'Uhhh," again. What had happened to his faculty of speech? He hadn't been this tongue-tied since he was a teen.

He shook his head and rubbed a hand over his face. "Yeah, you can use the one upstairs... in the guestroom." He turned and walked slowly back to the house. Still acting stunned.

Jo picked up the football and stumbled after him. Cringing at the feel of her wet clothes. She would have to strip on the deck, she couldn't go inside the house like this.

"Sean," she called out. "Can you get me a robe or something?" She tried to jog to catch him up. "Sean?"

She stared at his wet back. Yeesh, he even looked good from the back. She shook her head to get rid of those thoughts. "Sean! I can't go in the house like this!"

She stopped on the deck, put the ball on the table and tried to pull her jeans off. She struck an unexpected problem. The wet jeans clung to her so well, she could not pull them off. Oh dear god, she was going to have to ask him for help. She blushed at the thought. The other option of wrecking them was just not on her list of things to do. D&G were expensive. It crossed her mind that it would be safer to ask a complete stranger to help. She actually looked around for one. "SEAN!"

"Coming, I'm coming!" He bellowed. It echoed. _Oh, shit! That just sounded so wrong._

She stood on the deck looking like a drowned rat with her jeans undone and stuck at her hip level. The alcohol was affecting her again and she swayed a little where she stood. She tried to pull out her t-shirt to cover herself.

Sean appeared in the open slider, a huge white bath sheet in his hands. He stared at his half-undressed partner. "What are you **doing**?"

Jo blushed again. This was some kind of nightmare. She mumbled something he probably couldn't hear and then she tried again. Her voice was still tiny. "I can't get my jeans off by myself." _Oh kill me now_, she prayed. He had probably just got that erection to go down and now she was asking him to help take her pants off? What if she just left his house, got in a taxi, packed her bags and went home? It couldn't be worse... could it?

He just looked at her.

"They're wet... and tight... and..." Okay. [i]_Stop talking Jo_.[/i] She waved at herself in what she hoped was a self explanatory gesture. "Wet," she repeated obviously.

"Oh." Sean couldn't believe he was going to have to **touch** her. Her bare legs. _**Oh my God!**__ Can this day get any fucking worse? Christ, man,don't think about fucking._

"Um, maybe if you sit on the lounge? I can... uh..." He was standing there, a confused frown making a little 'm' in the center of his forehead. He waved his hands vaguely around, not sure where to put them.

Jo swayed a little; tried to take a step, couldn't and fell on her ass. She was drunker than she thought. "Here's good," she said shooting (a little late) for dignified. She leant back and held her feet up at Sean, supporting herself on her elbows.

He grabbed her jeans at the ankles, but all that did was slide her whole body across the deck.

She giggled. Shit, he was going to have to peel her out of them. He sighed; might as well get it over with.

He crouched down and actually closed his eyes as he reached for her hips. He had them down to her knees before he remembered the towel. Oh, well. Too late now. He yanked them the rest of the way off.

Jo was still giggling until a thought wormed its way into her befuddled head. Undies. He was probably going to take her undies with the jeans. She clutched suddenly at herself but it was too late. She had grabbed them, but they were around her thighs.

When Sean felt her grab at something, he looked to see. His eyes popped and he backed off so fast he sat down, flat on his ass "Here!" He threw the towel at her and scrambled up. And turned his back to her, trying to give her a little dignity... way too late. All he could see was that triangle of blonde curls... And now he was hard as a rock again. He fled into the house, shaking.

Jo clutched at the towel, and the small measure of dignity he had tried to give her. She groaned out loud. She had flashed her partner. She was a first class idiot. She pulled up her panties, clambered to her feet and tried to remember where he had said the shower was. Upstairs?

She made her way carefully through the house. She desperately wanted to have a bit of a sticky beak, a look around, but that might be the final straw. She found the stairs easily enough. She had no idea where Sean had gone. He was probably smacking his head into a wall somewhere at his appalling luck in partners. She could bet he and D had never had problems like this.

She had reached the bathroom; it was across the small hallway from the guest room. It looked occupied. Clothes were strewn everywhere and the bed was rumpled and unmade. She knew he lived alone.

Two years... two years and he was still sleeping in the guest room. This must be the house... the scene of the crime. Oh poor Sean. She remembered how he had looked that morning; he looked exhausted. Assuming he actually ever slept. She smacked herself. They had nearly kissed in the kitchen of _her _house. No wonder he had such a strong reaction.

She didn't know what to wear after her shower. She would have to wear _his_ clothes until hers had washed and dried. Right now, she thought she could probably could get in a cab dressed in one of his shirts... and run. Cab drivers in LA must have seen worse.

She baulked in the door of the bathroom. If he was sleeping here then he showered _here._ She closed her eyes and had an image of how he would look in a shower. Sean... wet... with a hard on. It made her mouth go dry and other places go wet.

"Stupid," she said aloud. She glared at herself in the mirror. "You are so stupid. What are you doing? This is not like you!" she told herself off.

She was such a mess; wet and covered in sand. It was a wonder he wanted to kiss her at all. She turned the shower on.

_What about you? _her internal voice asked. _Do you want to kiss him?_

She groaned out loud. God help her; yes she did. She stripped off the rest of her wet clothes. They fell with a plop onto the bathroom floor. She wrapped herself in the towel and went to raid his wardrobe. She found some t-shirts pushed haphazardly into the shelves. This would have to do. She held it up against her body. It was big enough on her to serve as a dress.

Undies.

She would rinse them out and wear them wet. There was no way she was going pantiless around him. _Already did that_.

She showered. He didn't own any shampoo so she just rinsed her hair out as best as she could. The water temperature changed at one point and she wondered if he was in the other shower. She had probably forced him into the master bedroom. Maybe that was a good thing? Two years was a long time. But not really... to have lost someone in such awful circumstances.

Poor Sean.

She dried her hair with the towel and slipped the shirt over her head. She sniffed at the neck of it. It smelt like him and cigarettes. She wrapped her wet clothes in the towel so that she didn't drip on the floor. Her jeans must still be on the deck. She went to get them.

The laundry was off the back of the kitchen. She rinsed everything out in the sink to get rid of as much of the sand as she could and then she threw them in the machine. She put it on the shortest wash on the dial. She hung her bra over the sink.

Still no sign of Sean. She cleaned up the remains of their lunch, and put any leftovers in the fridge. The fridge looked awfully bare. Not a lot of food, just ancient looking condiments and beers. He really wasn't looking after himself. She stood in the kitchen, at a loss as to what to do now.

She went back out onto the deck and sat in a chair, looking at the surf. She pulled her knees up against her chest and pulled the t-shirt down to her ankles. She waited.

Sean was all kinds of fucked up. He'd stripped a woman he hardly knew in his own home. Christ, outside on the deck where his neighbours and the whole world could see. And the worst part was he'd enjoyed every second of his fingers touching her. Soft. Warm. Silken.

Then he embarrassed her by pulling down her underwear. She probably thought he was some kind of animal. Couldn't control himself. Well, that part was obvious... to both of them. He'd seen her face when she saw the raging hard-on he had on the beach. Shocked. Then he touched her and did it again. Shit, he wouldn't blame her if she never wanted to get near him again.

And now what was he supposed to do? She was upstairs in his shower. He had to get cleaned up; had to get her back to the office. He couldn't even call a cab. How would he explain her leaving with him and coming back alone? He was gonna lose everything. Job, house, friends... he didn't think even D would forgive him for something this stupid. Might as well just eat the gun now.

He crept back in from the front and peeked around. The house was quiet except for the washer running. He had to get out of these wet clothes, he was starting to shiver. Using the hose on the driveway to get the sand off really hadn't been a good idea. It was fucking cold.

He caught a glimpse of her sitting all hunched up on the deck. She looked miserable and he didn't blame her one bit. He was an asshole. He really had treated her like shit from the get-go. Never gave her a chance.

He snuck up the stairs and peeled out of his wet things. Just threw them in the shower. Rummaged around for some clean stuff. Found his Reeboks. Hoped his boots weren't shot.

Returning to the kitchen, he thought maybe coffee would be a good idea. Found the can, plugged the machine in and filled it with water. Now what? Stacy always made the coffee.. He took a deep breath. Looked outside. Blonde, not brunette. But she liked coffee, so she should know?

He went to the sliders. Fuck, she even sat there like Stace, when she was thinking. He swallowed the sudden lump in his throat and called to her. "Jo? You want some coffee?" It came out pretty strangled-sounding. He cleared his throat to try again as she turned to him.

Jo looked up at him in surprise. She thought it might have been the first time he had said her name. He usually called her JB and even that had only been once or twice. "I would kill for a cuppa," she said vehemently.

He gave her a lop-sided smile and shrug. "You know how to make it? My wife always did it." His voice broke a little on 'wife' but he managed to complete the sentence.

She smiled back at him. He was trying. "I'll swap you for a blankie or something. I'm freezing." She hopped off the chair and padded, barefoot into the kitchen. She studied the coffee machine. _Typical man_. She checked the filter, spooned in some coffee, turned it on and listened with anticipation as it started pumping through the water. She knew he had no milk in the fridge and drank his black. She might have to do the same.

"Yeah, it gets chilly quick, out here on the beach." He called from the main room. He wandered back in with a big, fluffy comforter and draped it over her shoulders. She recognised it as being the one from the couch. "How's that?"

"Bewdy," she said. She tucked it around her and clasped the edges in her hand. She had found a couple of mugs on a mug tree, rinsed them under the tap and put them on the bench [counter-top] ready. She felt really awkward. "I put my clothes in the washing machine... they shouldn't be long... should we try real football now?"

"I'm sure we can find something."

They stood uncomfortably in the kitchen until the coffee machine had finished and Jo had poured it out for them both. "Got any bikkies?"[biscuits=cookies] she asked.

"Nah," he paused. "Sorry."

She shrugged. "No problem." She clutched the comforter to her and jigged her head at the TV.

Sean headed into the living area, and picked up the remote. He flicked quickly through the commercial channels; daytime TV sucked. Maybe he could find a recorded game on cable... at least it would give him something to stare at besides her naked legs.

Nice, shapely legs with some muscle. And so pale they almost glowed. He flashed on an image of his hand on her thigh. The contrast in their skin tones amazed him. He wanted to see what his hand would look like on her breast... her ass. _Idiot! Just stop!_

She followed him into the lounge room. She could tell which corner of the lounge was 'his' spot. She took the other corner of the lounge, sitting and tucking her feet up under herself and the blanket. She watched him as he set up the TV and searched through a hundred channels. She held the mug in both hands.

"Sydney has just got extra free to air channels. We used to have only five until about a year ago. Cable TV has more but I never had the time for it. Waste of money," she chatted.

Sean found something he was happy with and threw himself down into his spot, with a noncommittal grunt.

Jo was still feeling a little wrung out; she was jet lagged, a teensy bit drunk, physically she felt tired and emotionally she was exhausted.

"Tell me how it works," she encouraged Sean.

He launched into a complex explanation of American football. He pointed out players to her, explained the statistics graphs they displayed occasionally and was more verbose than she had heard him be so far. She asked a question here or there, and drank her coffee. He started to get caught up in the game.

She got up at one stage when the washing machine beeped and moved her clothes to the dryer. She put the towels in as well to fill up the dryer and make sure the clothes dried quickly. She topped up her cuppa while she was on her feet and settled back onto the lounge.

She liked listening to him talk; his gravelly voice was unlike anyone else she knew. It was very distinctive. Maybe it was the smoking. And his accent. It kind of changed according to whom he was speaking. She supposed she did that too; changed her diction and her language with different groups. They were not so different really.

It started to get dark outside. She put her now empty mug onto the coffee table next to Sean's feet. She understood why he loved this house. The view was worth it. Watching the sun drop below the horizon. In Sydney the sun rose over the sea; she was all turned about here.

Her eyes closed. She fell asleep.

He watched her doze off, feeling drowsy himself. Poor thing, she'd really had a couple of rough days. His eyes drifted shut.


	12. Chapter 12

**Jo**

Her body clock was a mess. She woke up at one stage; completely lost (again) as to where she was. Sean was snoring at his end of the lounge. She went to the loo, pulled her clothes out of the dryer and hung them up to air. She had a drink of water from the tap and stood for a minute looking out over the sea. There was no point in her trying to get back to the safe house now. She may as well stay where she was.

She studied Sean and worried about him being cold. She went looking for a linen cupboard to find another blanket. She found it in the hall near the master bedroom. She listened but could still hear him snoring so he must be sound asleep.

She stepped inside the room. The room looked like they always did after the forensic cleaners had been through. A bare bed frame. Jesus, the mattress must have been thrown away. Pieces had been razor cut out of the carpet too. Bullet holes still in the wall. The paint looked abraded in spots where it had been scrubbed too hard. Blood spatter didn't scrub off, she knew that.

She glanced across to the sliding windows. She could piece it together. They must have come in from the beach, broken or shot through the large windows. She had a memory of how fast he had moved in the street yesterday... shit, was that only yesterday? He must have returned fire. No way could someone come into his house.

A glance towards the bathroom showed that most of _her _stuff was still there. There were articles that clearly didn't belong to Sean. Her heart ached for him. He can't have showered in here yesterday. What on earth did he do? Hose himself down outside?

She took a step back; this was wrong. She didn't belong in here. She pulled a blanket out of the hall cupboard and made her way back to the lounge room. She laid it carefully over him.

He had such an interesting face. It could not be described as beautiful, his features were too large. His nose was too big, his lips too full. At least she knew now, he really was that wonderful coffee latte colour all over. She had an image of her hand pressed against his abs. And his belly button was fascinating.

She sighed._My partner. _And she allowed herself one more touch. She pressed her hand against the side of his face. She told herself she was just moving him a little so he would stop snoring. He snuffled but didn't wake up. She returned to her corner and her blanket and tucked herself in. She watched him until she fell asleep.

**Sean**

Sean woke early and in pain. Headache, stiff neck, sore face and his left leg ached like a mother. He groaned and went to sit up. He'd fallen asleep on the couch. TV was off... odd.

Then he remembered. His partner... Jo. He brought her here, got her drunk. He turned and there she was curled up on the couch just like the cat. He sighed and rubbed his face. _OW!_

"Fuck!" he whispered. He snuffled a bit and wiggled his nose; didn't feel broke, just sore. He'd sneak upstairs and shower quick before waking her.

Had to get moving. Get her back to her place; he was sure she'd want to change and clean up before they went to the office. As he passed the kitchen, he saw the little scrap of black lace hanging over the sink. Right in the kitchen window. Crap.

Too late to worry about it now, he figured on his way up. Thank God the stairs didn't creak.

Relaxing in the hot water, he began to feel a bit better. The heat soothed his stiff muscles, his leg loosened up and the headache eased as his neck muscles relaxed. Now he just had one little problem to solve.

He looked down at it as he soaped himself. Images of Jo began to run through his mind. Washing morphed into something else. He bit his lip to stay quiet. He closed his eyes and leaned his forehead on the cool tiles. Stroked himself some more.

_Big blue eyes; sparkling mischievously. That 100 watt smile. The way her ass flexed when she ran down the beach. Her glorious mane of blonde hair, pieces flying loose as she sat beside him in his truck... would look really good spread across his pillows. Those long, shapely legs... wrapped around his hips? Oh, yeah. _

_Long gold lashes. Freckles. Does she have freckles anywhere else? The way she patted him with her tiny white hands; she was always putting her hands on him. Black lace... would she have pale nipples or would they be real pink? They would be after he'd sucked on them. Does she taste as sweet as she smells? Fuck, yes!_

He gasped and moaned, folding forward more as he came to a shuddering climax. He'd come so hard his knees were weak. He leaned against the wall and just let the hot water run over him. Trying to recover enough to stand straight and catch his breath.

Clothes. He semi-dried and staggered into the bedroom. Hands finally steady, he shaved. Clean... took off all the dirt. Hoped she liked him like this. Turning off the water he thought he heard noise downstairs.

She's awake? Good; he wouldn't have to wake her... touch her. He was actually afraid to. Seemed like every time he did, disaster struck... and he got hard. How the hell was he gonna work with her beside him all day? Touching him; she liked to touch.

He stared at his reflection. His nose was still a little swollen and there was a tinge of colour to one side of the bridge. He turned his head; incipient black eye? Great. That oughta go over well at work. And he'd just shaved... now everybody was gonna be looking at his face. He couldn't think at all with her around. He was so fucked.

**Jo**

Jo had woken up and her eyes went to his end of the lounge. He was gone. Part of her was pleased. This could be awkward... again. It seemed to be their word of the week.

She found her clothes and got dressed in the laundry with the door shut. She was very glad her jeans had survived the experience, she liked these jeans. Her bra was not completely dry but it would have to do. She put on another pot of coffee. They would have to get breakfast out; he had nothing.

She hoped he was having a shower now, with warm water. Hosing himself down. Honestly... she shook her head. Where did she leave her shoes? She was out on the deck looking for them when he came down the stairs. She saw him go into the kitchen. He had shaved. He was making an effort.

Her socks felt damp but she put them on anyway. Stamped her feet into her boots and hoped the coffee was done; she **so** needed it. She might ask him for an aspirin or whatever he had for headaches; she had the dull head of a hangover. Drink more water today and never drink tequila with him again… _ever_. Although it had been fun. She wondered how long it had been since he had let himself have some fun. He can't date, his instant physical reaction to her demonstrated that.

She mentally slapped herself again. _Not your concern Jo; he's your partner._

She couldn't stand to leave the kitchen messy so she washed up the few things they had used, the cutlery and mugs from last night. The coffee was done by then and she poured two.

"How's your nose?" she asked him. "It doesn't look too bad."

"Better, but I think I'm gonna have a black eye. Should be good for some comments." He sighed, disgusted with himself.

"Can I have a headache tablet for my head too, if you are taking one?"

"If I can find any. Hold on." He took a fortifying deep breath and headed into the main bedroom. Shot out mere seconds later holding a green bottle of Tylenol. "Here." He shoved it at her.

"Thanks Sean." She passed him his coffee and stopped herself before she patted him. He had gone into the main bedroom. He had almost held his breath like a little kid.

Grabbing the bottle Jo took two tablets for herself. She hated hangovers, they made her feel so dull and woolly headed.

Sean grabbed the bottle when she put it down and shook out 3 tablets. He looked at her a little confused. But not really surprised. She had obviously restrained herself from her usual pat. Not that he blamed her. It made him sad to think he had caused it.

"I'm starving... can we grab some brekkie out?" She assumed they would have to head off soon.

"Sure. You ready? We should get going. Thought you might want to stop at your place? Change? Wash your hair? I can hit a coffee shop... get some... uh, what do you eat anyway?" He stumbled through his thoughts.

"I'm clean, my clothes are clean. You said this is more what I should be wearing?" She looked chagrined. "I really didn't pack the right clothes. I might need to go shopping sometime. But this will do for today. Plus we skipped out early yesterday so we should be 'good little vegemites'* today. I'd love some grease... bacon and egg sandwich?" [*behave themselves]

"Let's grab that food, pick up your car and I'll show you a good place for work clothes. You can practice driving on the wrong side of the street, too." He grinned, sort of. More a grimace.

"Tell me it is not a manual... a stick shift?"

"Nah. Need a free hand t' shoot with."

She laughed. She started searching in her bag. "I just need to brush my hair. Is it okay if I do it here or I can go out on the deck so I don't make a mess... drop hair everywhere." She looked at him expectantly.

"Please! Does it look like I care?" He snorted.

"Okay then," She brushed it where she was, chatting to him as she did so. "Work clothes? You don't mean 'work clothes' like those women were wearing yesterday... did you?"

"Well, sorta. You don't have to go quite that far. Wouldn't be a **bad** idea if you had one outfit like that, though... you'd make a great distraction." He grinned, apparently enjoying the idea from his expression.

She rolled her eyes at him. "Yeah right..." She breathed into her cupped hand. "Ugh," she said. "Do you have a spare toothbrush?"

He didn't look happy. "I can look." He glanced toward the bedroom.

"No," she rushed to say. "We can buy one when we are out. Or some mouthwash or something..." She trailed off.

"There's mouthwash upstairs." He was plainly relieved.

"Bewdy, she'll be right."

"Uh, huh." He scrunched up his face.

She dashed up stairs to use the bathroom and swish some mouthwash around. Cinnamon, not the usual minty stuff. She studied herself in the mirror again. She had some basic makeup in her bag, so she fixed up her eyes and applied some lipstick and she was good to go.

"I'm ready!" She announced at the bottom of the stairs.

He was waiting by the door. "You don't really need that, you know. You look good right out of the shower." _Shit, Vetter! What the hell did you say that for? You probably just insulted the woman!_ He looked shocked by his own comment.

Jo blinked at him. She had to think about what he had meant for a second. Did he mean she was pretty without makeup? "Ahhh... work clothes," she reminded him. Was he complimenting her? "Part of the outfit."

"Right." He opened the door for her.

She hurried outside. "Breakfast... can't wait for that... and some real coffee..." Fuck, she was babbling again. _Why did he do this to her?_

Sean hurried to the truck and around to her side. He was definitely looking forward to helping her in. As he boosted her, he muttered, more to himself than aloud, "I'm beginning to really enjoy this." Then he realized he'd spoken aloud. _Shit, you idiot! Can't you keep your big trap shut? You must really like the taste of your foot!_

She watched him as he walked around to the driver's side. "Exactly what kind of car did you get for me?" she asked suspiciously. "And am I going to need one of those little plastic fold up step ladders?" Woe betide, she suggest he stay with her, to give her a boost when she needed it. She had heard him, but didn't want to admit that she quite enjoyed it too.

"No, it'll be the usual sedan. Adjustable seats and everything. Probably not a fashionable colour... sorry, they like them inconspicuous." He smiled so she would know he was teasing her.

"Humph," she grunted at him. "Inconspicuous is not in my vocabulary," she told him with a grin. _Shit! Stop flirting! Work... get it back to work. _"I need to check with some of my informants too when we get to the office. Fuck knows what's happening back there."

"Good idea... and I noticed." His voice dropped, gravelly and intimate on the second half of his comment. His eyes gleamed when he looked at her.

She opened her mouth but then shut it with a snap. She had no response to that.


	13. Chapter 13

They pulled in at a Mexican place.

"Mexican? For breakfast?"

"You wanted grease," he reminded her.

She was a little concerned about getting in and out of the car; Sean would give her another boost, she was sure, and she didn't know how to handle that at the minute either. But luckily he headed for the drive through alley. He ordered some breakfast burritos and coffee for them both. They collected their food, paid and headed off for a day in the office chasing down contacts and information.

**Jo**

Jo sat at her desk and munched her Mexican breakfast. She had never considered Mexican as breakfast food, but it was pretty good. She caught herself watching him all day. She liked the way he walked; he was almost pigeon toed. He turned his feet in a little when he walked, but he was so athletic he could move very quickly when he needed to. She felt like smacking her head on the desk when she kept glancing up at him._ He's my partner. _It was becoming her new mantra. She checked out his ass when he bent over. She imagined squeezing his biceps… I mean… damn…

_He's my partner_.

They spent the day together. His gruff, gravelly voice was so distinctive she could hear him talking even outside their office and she caught herself listening for him.

Jo was a very touchy feely person. She had learnt a long time ago that people were friendlier when she touched them. It had become such a habit for her that now, she was unaware that she did it. But she had become so physically aware of Sean that she would catch herself patting at him. She would be mortified and blush, but that made it worse. She patted everyone, the fact that she blushed when she did it to Sean was like a giant sign pointing out that he was different. Different to her.

_He's my partner_.

**D**

D was amazed when he walked into the office on Thursday. Sean's truck was already in the lot. _He must have gotten up at the crack of dawn to beat me. What's up with that?_

Of course, that meant Jo would be in, as well. D stopped and leaned in the door to say good morning to her and check on his old partner. He looked from one to the other. He still had her wine in his car.

_What the fuck? Oh, don't tell me! No wonder she wasn't at the safe house last night. She was with him? Sean, my man, what are you thinking? Look at him, dressed decent and clean-shaven, too. But what's with the face? Looks like he got punched._

Jo looked different, too. Dressed down from the last two days, less make-up and her hair was loose on her shoulders. She looked younger, softer like this. Not like a cop at all. Especially when she caught sight of D and instantly blushed.

Greeting completely forgotten, Demetrius just stood there, coffee in one hand. His mouth was half open and his brows just kept creeping higher up his forehead as he glanced back and forth. He had no clue what to say.

**Sean**

"What?" Sean barked at his friend. That look on his face spelled real trouble. He looked at Jo. Her face was beet red and she looked like she wanted to hide under the desk. _Shit, nothing like being obvious, woman. No wonder he looks stunned. Might as well just stand on the desk and announce we slept together. _

He decided to continue aggressive, maybe D would take the hint and back off. "You gotta problem?" He leaned one elbow on the desk and hunched forward over his arm. His other hand was on the arm of his chair, elbow in the air. It flexed the muscles of arms and chest, making him appear even bigger than he was.

He watched Jo's face out of the corner of his eye. She seemed surprised by his behaviour, too. Almost as much as D.

Demetrius took a deep breath. "Just stopped to say good morning. And tell Jo I have her wine in my car. Whenever she wants it back. Candace can't drink it. She did appreciate the gesture, though."

He turned to the little blonde. "I tried to bring it back last night, but you weren't home." The question he didn't ask was apparent in his eyes.

Sean cut him off before she said anything. "Later, D. We got stuff to do." He **looked **at Jo. "Phone call? Before they leave for the day?" He picked up his burrito and stuffed it in his face, deliberately ending the conversation.

**Jo**

The time difference between Sydney and LA meant Jo really couldn't reach anyone until closer to 2pm LA time. Sydney was 17 hours ahead. She read up on files and information they had gathered here that she had not seen yet.

She was going to have to drink the coffee from the vending machine. She debated whether it was better than nothing; it was a toss up. In the end she decided to make a trip to the Starbucks again.

"Sean, I'm going to hit Starbucks... did you want anything?" She looked at him and waited for his response.

"Real coffee? Hell, yeah." He never lifted his head from the pile of papers on his desk.

"Venti...black... right?"

He grunted something at her and she hurried off. She needed the fresh air; if you could call the outside air fresh. At least she was away from Sean. _For fuck's sake woman, pull yourself together_.

She eyed off the cakes and bikkies in the cafe but they were all too big for her and she hated throwing away good food. _Share it with Sean._ No...no,no. It would just make her fat anyway. She got the coffees and headed back to the office.

**Sean**

He kept his head down until she left, then sighed. It was almost a relief to have a moment by himself. At least until his former partner walked back in. And sat at his former desk.

"So. You gonna tell me what's up?" He stared at Sean. "And what happened to your face?"

"Nothing. I'm good." He mumbled, not looking up, still.

"Sure. You always come to work with a shiner after having a strange woman in your house. And don't tell me she wasn't there. I saw her when I walked in. She wanted to crawl under the desk and hide." He slapped the desk. "I don't care, man. You need a good lay. But your partner? Shit, Vetter! Think about what you're doing."

Sean's head snapped up and he snarled. "I did not sleep with her!" He scowled at D. "Not that it would be any of your business if I did."

D lifted his hands and leaned back.

"Okay, okay. Sure looked like it from her reaction, though."

Sean sighed. "I took her to Mamacita's for lunch. We had a small accident and I had to go home to change. We sat on the beach... tried to play some ball. She's a good catch. Ended up dumping her in the surf." He lifted one hand. "Don't ask, I know I'm a jerk. We had some tequila. Anyway, we were both exhausted and fell asleep on the couch. That's all, D. I swear." He looked pained.

"I can't believe you took her with you." D shook his head. Sean sighed.

"Me either, D. It just happened... not like I planned it." Sean rubbed his hand over his head. "I don't know what the fuck is wrong with me. I keep seeing her in my head. The way she moves and all her little weird habits. I actually like her, D. I tried real hard not to, but I do." He looked at D like he was asking for help; an explanation.

D just looked at him, shocked beyond belief. His friend was beginning to come to life after all this time? He was delighted, and yet... why did it have to be a woman they worked with?

He was worried Sean had subconsciously picked someone who he knew wouldn't be permanent. Or was he still trying to punish himself? D knew he hadn't done anything with the house. Was this just another way to prove to himself he wasn't worth any woman's affection? Because she would finish her job and leave?

"Are you sure you're ready for this? You know she's gonna go home when this is over, right?" D frowned, as well. "That's not gonna fuck you up again?"

Sean shrugged. "I have no idea what I 'm doing. I was hoping you would." He laughed. "Now what?"

D shook his head. "I guess go for it, if you think you can handle it. She's definitely worth a try."

They both looked up as the lady under discussion appeared in the doorway.


	14. Chapter 14

Jo

On the walk back, Jo had been doing some thinking of her own. She was in a foreign land. No one here knew her. Even her Mum wasn't around to nag her to death about her poor life choices.  
>She was here for the life of the job; that was the deal. She knew it had taken them years to chase down Memo; seven? years. But this job was a little more cut and dried; it shouldn't have a timetable like that. So maybe six months tops and she would be going home.<p>

Should she consider Sean a foreign affair? Something exotic she would never normally go near. It was against all her usual working rules; and they worked... well at least they had for her for the last few years.

She suspected he was interested in her; he was flirty and she had seen evidence of an actual physical reaction to her. Oh my; she actually held her hand over her chest at the memory of that image.

She knew gossip travelled faster than the speed of light, but would it make it all the way back to Sydney? Probably. She sighed.

The rules were different for women. It was unfair, but it was just the way it was. She couldn't change it. Slutty guys were never criticised, but slutty girls...? She had worked so hard to get where she was. Would one fling with a partner ruin her record for life? Ruin all her hard work?  
>And what about how they worked together? Would it affect that? Was it better just to not go there?<p>

She had a memory flash of Sean in the towel. A hot flush travelled through her whole body at that image. She literally smacked herself in the head. _Stop it! He's your partner. _So she was NOT going there...

Her thoughts had carried her right back to the office. She could see his broad back hunched over his desk. D was sitting in her chair. She placed his coffee next to his hand, patted him on the arm, froze, blushed and snatched it back. She really had to stop doing that.

D cleared his throat, "Well I got calls t' make. See ya later. Have a good day, Jo." He smiled and left the chair out for her.

"Thanks D." She smiled at him and patted his arm too. "How's Candace? Everything good?"

He stopped in the doorway. "Oh, shit! I almost forgot. She wanted to know if you'd like to go shopping this weekend?"

"Omigod!" she squealed. Jo almost bounced in place. "I would LOVE to go shopping with Candace. Can she pick me up? Should I pick her up?"

"Cool! Yeah she has no problem driving, yet." He chuckled. "You'll have to put up with Rachel, though. I got things..."

Sean's head came up and he frowned at D. He had a feeling that he'd said that on purpose. Give them a chance to talk more.

"Speaking of cars; we should go pick up yours, Jo." He stood up and grinned a bit. "Thanks for the coffee."

Jo clenched her fists, held them in front of her body, shook them and made an indescribable noise of happiness; it was kind of like a 'squee' noise. "Ohhh," she said, "Fashion AND a car." She made that noise again.

Sean looked at her like she was crazy and snorted. "Women!" But he laughed.

They went down to the motor pool and he steered her to the cage where the attendant was waiting. "I was beginning to think you were a myth, sweetheart. This car's been sitting here waiting." He handed her the keys and told them which row and slot.  
>Sean was correct; it was inconspicuous. A dark grey Caprice, 4-door sedan. Very blah. But it was clean and the tank was full. They got in, and she looked over the console. It felt weird to sit on the wrong side of the car. She adjusted the seat and the mirrors for her height.<p>

She muttered to herself, "I am _never _going to get used to this."

Sean snickered. "You gotta put the key in the ignition if you wanna turn it on."

She rolled her eyes and gave him the Duh look. He just grinned.

"Make yourself useful," she reprimanded him. "Weren't you going to program my thingamybob... wadjamacallit..." [aussie words for when you can't think of what something is called]

"GPS, yeah." He did, putting in work, her address and on a whim, D's home address, too. Then he figured what the hell and added his own. "it's voice activated; all you have to do is say the name."

"All right, Mr Navigator... where to now? Oh, weren't you going to give me some fashion advice?"

"Uh, right. Head out and make a left. Don't forget... stay in the right lane."

"I'll try not to. Why do you drive on the wrong side anyway? Just wanted to be different to the English?"

"I have no fuckin' clue." He snorted. "Who cares?"

"I suppose," she conceded. "As long as I don't forget."

He looked at her appraisingly and fastened his seatbelt. She rolled her eyes again; he never bothered with a seatbelt in his own car. "Shit stirrer," she muttered at him.

"What?" He looked puzzled and slightly insulted.

"Shopping," she reminded him. Although the thought of any man telling her what to wear, made her feel slightly queasy.

"What did you just say?" He repeated. "Sometimes I really think we don't speak the same language."

"You were going to show me what clothes I should wear, so I look the part... remember?" He still looked confused. "And a 'shit stirrer' is someone who is teasing, I suppose... taking the piss? Is that right?"

"Oh, 'talking shit'. Why'nt you just say so?"

She whacked him in the shoulder with her hand. "Stop it!"

"Stop what?" he asked innocently. But he couldn't keep his lips from twitching. "You need to make another left up here. Next intersection."

They made it to the freeway with no problems. Jo merged into the traffic. She made a small nervous noise. She couldn't help it; the traffic was moving so fast.

"Which lane should I be in?"

"Just stay to the right." He actually touched her shoulder, just laying his hand on her briefly.

"Your exit will be on the right."

"Give me lots of warning," she pleaded.

"No problem, lots of big green signs." He pointed overhead to the one they were passing under.

"Okay then." She gave a nervous giggle. He had touched her. She also noticed that he had refrained from smoking. Had he lit up at all this morning? "But which sign am I looking for?"

"The one that says West Century Boulevard. It's a few miles. Relax. You're doing fine."

"I can do this," she told herself aloud. She risked a quick glance at Sean. "You shouldn't be so smug," she said. "One day you might have to drive in Sydney." Dear God! What had made her say that? It made it sound like he might be visiting _her _one day.

"You inviting me?" He growled. He was grinning. And that sparkle was in his eye.

"Ahh..." No, she had nothing.

He laughed aloud. "Stirring shit again?"

"Jeez, get it right... shit stirring," she corrected him. He just laughed louder.

"Whatever." Then he checked the road; he really should pay attention to where they were. "Your exit's coming up."

"Thanks. Which way after that?" He pointed out the streets as they moved further from the freeway and into the poorer neighbourhoods.

"I had a Volkswagon for a while and the indicator is on the other side. For months after I got rid of it, I kept turning the windscreen wipers on when I wanted to turn." She glanced at him quickly, he looked wary.

"Left side in this car and most American ones." he mumbled. He was watching the streets now. Just like the other day.

"Here. Pull over here." He indicated a wide open spot. She parked the car and made a little happy noise, as if she was pleased with herself.

"See, you survived," he laughed at her. "Now, let's see if I do." He pointed at the store two doors down. There was a big man slouched on a lawn chair under the crooked awning beside the open door.

Jo looked over the store with some trepidation. The whole place looked a little rickety. Even the front door looked temporary; as if it had been replaced recently. She gave Sean a worried look. "Here? Really?"

"Yup." He headed inside.

She sighed. She suspected if she wanted to do this job right, that most of her clothes could have stayed in the suitcase. She tried to comfort herself with the thought that she could dress up to go shopping with Candace. She was actually looking forward to it. With a last glance around the street, she followed Sean into the shop.

He was already pulling things off the racks, tossing them haphazardly over his arm. As soon as she caught up, he thrust an armful of bright cloth at her. "Here, try these." He looked up. "You can change in the back."

She took the armful and followed the hand lettered sign to the change room. It looked like it was used to store stuff. They had got really thrifty with the curtain; it barely lay flat and left large gaps at the side.

She tried on a pair of Capri pants. "Jesus God," she swore. "These are so tight I swear you can see my appendix scar!"

"Lemme see." His growl was right on the other side of the curtain.

"Wait a sec... how did you know what size I was?" She pulled the curtain back and glared at him suspiciously. She had momentarily forgotten about the tightness of the pants.

"Good guess?" He grinned. "And three sisters."

"Uh-huh."

He shrugged. "They look good. Try a couple of the tops." After she vanished back inside, he asked, "When did you have your appendix out?"

She faltered; was he making conversation? "Ah... I was three... nearly died...spent ten days in hospital... they didn't work out what it was until too late...I was on my grandfather's property... had to send the Flying Doctor."

"Ruptured, huh?" He rumbled. "I lost a cousin 'cause of that. Had no insurance and never went to the hospital. Collapsed on the street."

"It's a problem round here, isn't it? Poor medical services?" She was chatting through the curtain while she tried a top on. No, this one needed a different bra, the cleavage was a bit low for what she was wearing.

"In some areas. What's taking so long?"

"Did you want me to flash you?" She paused. "Christ... don't answer that."

"What's the problem?" Now he was growling.

"Wrong bra," she tried to explain.

"Oh, for Christ's sake! Just take it off!" He was beginning to sound aggravated.

She supposed that would work. She peeled her bra off down her arms without taking the top off. She studied herself in the mirror. Not so bad. She needed the growl of approval though. She pulled open the curtain. "How's this? If this one is okay I can just get more of the same..."

He just stood there for a minute with his mouth open. Then a wide smile creased his face. "Oh, Yeah!" He turned and almost ran back into the racks. "More pants!" He yelled over a shoulder.

Jo watched him go. "Guess that one is in the 'buy' pile," she said to herself. She went back into the tiny alcove to try on a different top. "Eep," she muttered. That one would go in her 'never in a million years' pile.

Sean arrived with a stack of pants. Without thinking, he pushed them through the curtain. "Here, try these." His eyes almost fell out of his head at the top she had on. "Oh, my... Damn!" Suddenly realizing he had his head in the dressing room, he gulped. "Sorry!" and jerked back outside.

"I didn't mean that. I was just having fun. I never realized clothes shopping could be fun." Now he was babbling.

Jo snorted behind the curtain. Maybe he could be taught some new tricks. She chuckled and grabbed the next pair of pants. Leopard print? Really? They didn't leave much to the imagination either. She would seriously have to go commando to wear these, unless she had her thong hanging out the top and she hated that look.

She wandered out to show Sean. "If I sit down in these, half my ass is going to hang out."  
>"Great!" He replied without thinking. "Uh, I mean that's okay. You'll really distract the subject, then." He looked at her ass. "Um, don't take this wrong, but I think we need to get you some different undies, too. Those panties are't gonna work." He frowned. "Or you could just go without?"<p>

Jo was looking down thinking about shoes. "Yeah, that's what I thought," she commented thoughtlessly, looked up, met Sean's eyes, blushed and ran back into the dressing room.

She heard his breath whoosh out. "I need some air", he squeaked. He ran out of the store.

She was banging her head against the wall. She needed some air, too. She grabbed the first pants and top; added a plain black pair that was the same brand so she didn't need to try it on. She faltered at the backless glomesh top. She thought of Sean's reaction and put it on the pile. She was going straight to Hell... She just threw in another red top.

So she had three outfits. That should be enough. Her shoes would do for the minute and she could do some shoe shopping on the weekend. Shoes made her happy. She carried it all to the register.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

They pulled in at a Mexican place.

"Mexican? For breakfast?"

"You wanted grease," he reminded her.

She was a little concerned about getting in and out of the car; Sean would give her another boost, she was sure, and she didn't know how to handle that at the minute either. But luckily he headed for the drive through alley. He ordered some breakfast burritos and coffee for them both. They collected their food, paid and headed off for a day in the office chasing down contacts and information.

**Jo**

Jo sat at her desk and munched her Mexican breakfast. She had never considered Mexican as breakfast food, but it was pretty good. She caught herself watching him all day. She liked the way he walked; he was almost pigeon toed. He turned his feet in a little when he walked, but he was so athletic he could move very quickly when he needed to. She felt like smacking her head on the desk when she kept glancing up at him._ He's my partner_. It was becoming her new mantra. She checked out his ass when he bent over. She imagined squeezing his biceps… I mean… damn…

_He's my partner_.

They spent the day together. His gruff, gravelly voice was so distinctive she could hear him talking even outside their office and she caught herself listening for him.

Jo was a very touchy feely person. She had learnt a long time ago that people were friendlier when she touched them. It had become such a habit for her that now, she was unaware that she did it. But she had become so physically aware of Sean that she would catch herself patting at him. She would be mortified and blush, but that made it worse. She patted everyone, the fact that she blushed when she did it to Sean was like a giant sign pointing out that he was different. Different to her.

_He's my partner_.

**D**

D was amazed when he walked into the office on Thursday. Sean's truck was already in the lot. _He must have gotten up at the crack of dawn to beat me. What's up with that?_

Of course, that meant Jo would be in, as well. D stopped and leaned in the door to say good morning to her and check on his old partner. He looked from one to the other. He still had her wine in his car. 

_What the fuck? Oh, don't tell me! No wonder she wasn't at the safe house last night. She was with him? Sean, my man, what are you thinking? Look at him, dressed decent and clean-shaven, too. But what's with the face? Looks like he got punched._

Jo looked different, too. Dressed down from the last two days, less make-up and her hair was loose on her shoulders. She looked younger, softer like this. Not like a cop at all. Especially when she caught sight of D and instantly blushed.

Greeting completely forgotten, Demetrius just stood there, coffee in one hand. His mouth was half open and his brows just kept creeping higher up his forehead as he glanced back and forth. He had no clue what to say.

**Sean**

"What?" Sean barked at his friend. That look on his face spelled real trouble. He looked at Jo. Her face was beet red and she looked like she wanted to hide under the desk. _Shit, nothing like being obvious, woman. No wonder he looks stunned. Might as well just stand on the desk and announce we slept together. _

He decided to continue aggressive, maybe D would take the hint and back off. "You gotta problem?" He leaned one elbow on the desk and hunched forward over his arm. His other hand was on the arm of his chair, elbow in the air. It flexed the muscles of arms and chest, making him appear even bigger than he was.

He watched Jo's face out of the corner of his eye. She seemed surprised by his behaviour, too. Almost as much as D.

Demetrius took a deep breath. "Just stopped to say good morning. And tell Jo I have her wine in my car. Whenever she wants it back. Candace can't drink it. She did appreciate the gesture, though."

He turned to the little blonde. "I tried to bring it back last night, but you weren't home." The question he didn't ask was apparent in his eyes.

Sean cut him off before she said anything. "Later, D. We got stuff to do." He **looked **at Jo. "Phone call? Before they leave for the day?" He picked up his burrito and stuffed it in his face, deliberately ending the conversation.

**Jo**

The time difference between Sydney and LA meant Jo really couldn't reach anyone until closer to 2pm LA time. Sydney was 17 hours ahead. She read up on files and information they had gathered here that she had not seen yet.

She was going to have to drink the coffee from the vending machine. She debated whether it was better than nothing; it was a toss up. In the end she decided to make a trip to the Starbucks again.

"Sean, I'm going to hit Starbucks... did you want anything?" She looked at him and waited for his response.

"Real coffee? Hell, yeah." He never lifted his head from the pile of papers on his desk.

"Venti...black... right?"

He grunted something at her and she hurried off. She needed the fresh air; if you could call the outside air fresh. At least she was away from Sean. _For fuck's sake woman, pull yourself together_.

She eyed off the cakes and bikkies in the cafe but they were all too big for her and she hated throwing away good food. _Share it with Sean. _ No...no,no. It would just make her fat anyway. She got the coffees and headed back to the office.

**Sean**

He kept his head down until she left, then sighed. It was almost a relief to have a moment by himself. At least until his former partner walked back in. And sat at his former desk.

"So. You gonna tell me what's up?" He stared at Sean. "And what happened to your face?"

"Nothing. I'm good." He mumbled, not looking up, still.

"Sure. You always come to work with a shiner after having a strange woman in your house. And don't tell me she wasn't there. I saw her when I walked in. She wanted to crawl under the desk and hide." He slapped the desk. "I don't care, man. You need a good lay. But your partner? Shit, Vetter! Think about what you're doing."

Sean's head snapped up and he snarled. "I did not sleep with her!" He scowled at D. "Not that it would be any of your business if I did."

D lifted his hands and leaned back.

"Okay, okay. Sure looked like it from her reaction, though."

Sean sighed. "I took her to Mamacita's for lunch. We had a small accident and I had to go home to change. We sat on the beach... tried to play some ball. She's a good catch. Ended up dumping her in the surf." He lifted one hand. "Don't ask, I know I'm a jerk. We had some tequila. Anyway, we were both exhausted and fell asleep on the couch. That's all, D. I swear." He looked pained.

"I can't believe you took her with you." D shook his head. Sean sighed.

"Me either, D. It just happened... not like I planned it." Sean rubbed his hand over his head. "I don't know what the fuck is wrong with me. I keep seeing her in my head. The way she moves and all her little weird habits. I actually like her, D. I tried real hard not to, but I do." He looked at D like he was asking for help; an explanation.

D just looked at him, shocked beyond belief. His friend was beginning to come to life after all this time? He was delighted, and yet... why did it have to be a woman they worked with?

He was worried Sean had subconsciously picked someone who he knew wouldn't be permanent. Or was he still trying to punish himself? D knew he hadn't done anything with the house. Was this just another way to prove to himself he wasn't worth any woman's affection? Because she would finish her job and leave?

"Are you sure you're ready for this? You know she's gonna go home when this is over, right?" D frowned, as well. "That's not gonna fuck you up again?"

Sean shrugged. "I have no idea what I 'm doing. I was hoping you would." He laughed. "Now what?"

D shook his head. "I guess go for it, if you think you can handle it. She's definitely worth a try."

They both looked up as the lady under discussion appeared in the doorway.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16 Jo

On the walk back, Jo had been doing some thinking of her own. She was in a foreign land. No one here knew her. Even her Mum wasn't around to nag her to death about her poor life choices.  
>She was here for the life of the job; that was the deal. She knew it had taken them years to chase down Memo; seven? years. But this job was a little more cut and dried; it shouldn't have a timetable like that. So maybe six months tops and she would be going home.<p>

Should she consider Sean a foreign affair? Something exotic she would never normally go near. It was against all her usual working rules; and they worked... well at least they had for her for the last few years.

She suspected he was interested in her; he was flirty and she had seen evidence of an actual physical reaction to her. Oh my; she actually held her hand over her chest at the memory of that image.

She knew gossip travelled faster than the speed of light, but would it make it all the way back to Sydney? Probably. She sighed.

The rules were different for women. It was unfair, but it was just the way it was. She couldn't change it. Slutty guys were never criticised, but slutty girls...? She had worked so hard to get where she was. Would one fling with a partner ruin her record for life? Ruin all her hard work?  
>And what about how they worked together? Would it affect that? Was it better just to not go there?<p>

She had a memory flash of Sean in the towel. A hot flush travelled through her whole body at that image. She literally smacked herself in the head. _Stop it! He's your partner. _So she was NOT going there...

Her thoughts had carried her right back to the office. She could see his broad back hunched over his desk. D was sitting in her chair. She placed his coffee next to his hand, patted him on the arm, froze, blushed and snatched it back. She really had to stop doing that.

D cleared his throat, "Well I got calls t' make. See ya later. Have a good day, Jo." He smiled and left the chair out for her.

"Thanks D." She smiled at him and patted his arm too. "How's Candace? Everything good?"

He stopped in the doorway. "Oh, shit! I almost forgot. She wanted to know if you'd like to go shopping this weekend?"

"Omigod!" she squealed. Jo almost bounced in place. "I would LOVE to go shopping with Candace. Can she pick me up? Should I pick her up?"

"Cool! Yeah she has no problem driving, yet." He chuckled. "You'll have to put up with Rachel, though. I got things..."

Sean's head came up and he frowned at D. He had a feeling that he'd said that on purpose. Give them a chance to talk more.

"Speaking of cars; we should go pick up yours, Jo." He stood up and grinned a bit. "Thanks for the coffee."

Jo clenched her fists, held them in front of her body, shook them and made an indescribable noise of happiness; it was kind of like a 'squee' noise. "Ohhh," she said, "Fashion AND a car." She made that noise again.

Sean looked at her like she was crazy and snorted. "Women!" But he laughed.

They went down to the motor pool and he steered her to the cage where the attendant was waiting. "I was beginning to think you were a myth, sweetheart. This car's been sitting here waiting." He handed her the keys and told them which row and slot.

Sean was correct; it was inconspicuous. A dark grey Caprice, 4-door sedan. Very blah. But it was clean and the tank was full. They got in, and she looked over the console. It felt weird to sit on the wrong side of the car. She adjusted the seat and the mirrors for her height.

She muttered to herself, "I am _never _going to get used to this."

Sean snickered. "You gotta put the key in the ignition if you wanna turn it on."

She rolled her eyes and gave him the Duh look. He just grinned.

"Make yourself useful," she reprimanded him. "Weren't you going to program my thingamybob... wadjamacallit..." [aussie words for when you can't think of what something is called]

"GPS, yeah." He did, putting in work, her address and on a whim, D's home address, too. Then he figured what the hell and added his own. "it's voice activated; all you have to do is say the name."

"All right, Mr Navigator... where to now? Oh, weren't you going to give me some fashion advice?"

"Uh, right. Head out and make a left. Don't forget... stay in the right lane."

"I'll try not to. Why do you drive on the wrong side anyway? Just wanted to be different to the English?"

"I have no fuckin' clue." He snorted. "Who cares?"

"I suppose," she conceded. "As long as I don't forget."

He looked at her appraisingly and fastened his seatbelt. She rolled her eyes again; he never bothered with a seatbelt in his own car. "Shit stirrer," she muttered at him.

"What?" He looked puzzled and slightly insulted.

"Shopping," she reminded him. Although the thought of any man telling her what to wear, made her feel slightly queasy.

"What did you just say?" He repeated. "Sometimes I really think we don't speak the same language."

"You were going to show me what clothes I should wear, so I look the part... remember?" He still looked confused. "And a 'shit stirrer' is someone who is teasing, I suppose... taking the piss? Is that right?"

"Oh, 'talking shit'. Why'nt you just say so?"

She whacked him in the shoulder with her hand. "Stop it!"

"Stop what?" he asked innocently. But he couldn't keep his lips from twitching. "You need to make another left up here. Next intersection."

They made it to the freeway with no problems. Jo merged into the traffic. She made a small nervous noise. She couldn't help it; the traffic was moving so fast.

"Which lane should I be in?"

"Just stay to the right." He actually touched her shoulder, just laying his hand on her briefly.

"Your exit will be on the right."

"Give me lots of warning," she pleaded.

"No problem, lots of big green signs." He pointed overhead to the one they were passing under.

"Okay then." She gave a nervous giggle. He had touched her. She also noticed that he had refrained from smoking. Had he lit up at all this morning? "But which sign am I looking for?"

"The one that says West Century Boulevard. It's a few miles. Relax. You're doing fine."

"I can do this," she told herself aloud. She risked a quick glance at Sean. "You shouldn't be so smug," she said. "One day you might have to drive in Sydney." Dear God! What had made her say that? It made it sound like he might be visiting _her _one day.

"You inviting me?" He growled. He was grinning. And that sparkle was in his eye.

"Ahh..." No, she had nothing.

He laughed aloud. "Stirring shit again?"

"Jeez, get it right... shit stirring," she corrected him. He just laughed louder.

"Whatever." Then he checked the road; he really should pay attention to where they were. "Your exit's coming up."

"Thanks. Which way after that?" He pointed out the streets as they moved further from the freeway and into the poorer neighbourhoods.

"I had a Volkswagon for a while and the indicator is on the other side. For months after I got rid of it, I kept turning the windscreen wipers on when I wanted to turn." She glanced at him quickly, he looked wary.

"Left side in this car and most American ones." he mumbled. He was watching the streets now. Just like the other day.

"Here. Pull over here." He indicated a wide open spot. She parked the car and made a little happy noise, as if she was pleased with herself.

"See, you survived," he laughed at her. "Now, let's see if I do." He pointed at the store two doors down. There was a big man slouched on a lawn chair under the crooked awning beside the open door.

Jo looked over the store with some trepidation. The whole place looked a little rickety. Even the front door looked temporary; as if it had been replaced recently. She gave Sean a worried look. "Here? Really?"

"Yup." He headed inside.

She sighed. She suspected if she wanted to do this job right, that most of her clothes could have stayed in the suitcase. She tried to comfort herself with the thought that she could dress up to go shopping with Candace. She was actually looking forward to it. With a last glance around the street, she followed Sean into the shop.

He was already pulling things off the racks, tossing them haphazardly over his arm. As soon as she caught up, he thrust an armful of bright cloth at her. "Here, try these." He looked up. "You can change in the back."

She took the armful and followed the hand lettered sign to the change room. It looked like it was used to store stuff. They had got really thrifty with the curtain; it barely lay flat and left large gaps at the side.

She tried on a pair of Capri pants. "Jesus God," she swore. "These are so tight I swear you can see my appendix scar!"

"Lemme see." His growl was right on the other side of the curtain.

"Wait a sec... how did you know what size I was?" She pulled the curtain back and glared at him suspiciously. She had momentarily forgotten about the tightness of the pants.

"Good guess?" He grinned. "And three sisters."

"Uh-huh."

He shrugged. "They look good. Try a couple of the tops." After she vanished back inside, he asked, "When did you have your appendix out?"

She faltered; was he making conversation? "Ah... I was three... nearly died...spent ten days in hospital... they didn't work out what it was until too late...I was on my grandfather's property... had to send the Flying Doctor."

"Ruptured, huh?" He rumbled. "I lost a cousin 'cause of that. Had no insurance and never went to the hospital. Collapsed on the street."

"It's a problem round here, isn't it? Poor medical services?" She was chatting through the curtain while she tried a top on. No, this one needed a different bra, the cleavage was a bit low for what she was wearing.

"In some areas. What's taking so long?"

"Did you want me to flash you?" She paused. "Christ... don't answer that."

"What's the problem?" Now he was growling.

"Wrong bra," she tried to explain.

"Oh, for Christ's sake! Just take it off!" He was beginning to sound aggravated.

She supposed that would work. She peeled her bra off down her arms without taking the top off. She studied herself in the mirror. Not so bad. She needed the growl of approval though. She pulled open the curtain. "How's this? If this one is okay I can just get more of the same..."

He just stood there for a minute with his mouth open. Then a wide smile creased his face. "Oh, Yeah!" He turned and almost ran back into the racks. "More pants!" He yelled over a shoulder.

Jo watched him go. "Guess that one is in the 'buy' pile," she said to herself. She went back into the tiny alcove to try on a different top. "Eep," she muttered. That one would go in her 'never in a million years' pile.

Sean arrived with a stack of pants. Without thinking, he pushed them through the curtain. "Here, try these." His eyes almost fell out of his head at the top she had on. "Oh, my... Damn!" Suddenly realizing he had his head in the dressing room, he gulped. "Sorry!" and jerked back outside.

"I didn't mean that. I was just having fun. I never realized clothes shopping could be fun." Now he was babbling.

Jo snorted behind the curtain. Maybe he could be taught some new tricks. She chuckled and grabbed the next pair of pants. Leopard print? Really? They didn't leave much to the imagination either. She would seriously have to go commando to wear these, unless she had her thong hanging out the top and she hated that look.

She wandered out to show Sean. "If I sit down in these, half my ass is going to hang out."  
>"Great!" He replied without thinking. "Uh, I mean that's okay. You'll really distract the subject, then." He looked at her ass. "Um, don't take this wrong, but I think we need to get you some different undies, too. Those panties are't gonna work." He frowned. "Or you could just go without?"<p>

Jo was looking down thinking about shoes. "Yeah, that's what I thought," she commented thoughtlessly, looked up, met Sean's eyes, blushed and ran back into the dressing room.

She heard his breath whoosh out. "I need some air", he squeaked. He ran out of the store.

She was banging her head against the wall. She needed some air, too. She grabbed the first pants and top; added a plain black pair that was the same brand so she didn't need to try it on. She faltered at the backless glomesh top. She thought of Sean's reaction and put it on the pile. She was going straight to Hell... She just threw in another red top.

So she had three outfits. That should be enough. Her shoes would do for the minute and she could do some shoe shopping on the weekend. Shoes made her happy. She carried it all to the register.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Sean was leaning against the car. He flicked a butt away guiltily as she came outside.

"Done!" she said conversationally. "What next?" He wasn't serious about the underwear... was he?

He reached through the driver's side door and popped the trunk. "Your choice... lunch or shoes and lingerie, I guess."

"Lunch," she leapt on that suggestion. Sean in a lingerie shop was just not something she could deal with right now. "I'll do shoes with Candace." Better not to mention lingerie.

"Chinese?" He walked around to the passenger side, after taking her bundles and putting them in the trunk.

"Chinese sounds good."

He gave her direction's to Chang's and they took off. He was pretty quiet, thinking.

She drove super carefully. She would be embarrassed for life if she had an accident now.

The little restaurant was busy, but they got a booth in the back. It was near the kitchen, noisy and warm, but at least they had been seated right away. Sean grinned and asked her what she wanted. They ordered tea and ate noodles while their orders were being filled.

And stared at each other. He kept dressing her in the various outfits in his head and finally sighed. "So, what do you think?"

She froze. "About what?"

"Working undercover." He chuckled, "Actually, mostly uncovered."

She snorted and resisted the urge to hit him again. "I haven't done much of it yet... just played dress up so far. That reminds me, I have to make some calls to Sydney when we get back. The time difference should be better by then." She glanced around. No one could overhear them. "Do you think it is just drugs, or drugs [b]and[/b] people smuggling?"

"Mmmm. More likely drugs for weapons." He looked her over, cocking his head to one side. "You ever wear a wire?"

"Yes, but only once... why?"

"You never know. At least you got more places to hide one. Might come in handy."

She took a sip of her tea, then snorted. "Not in those outfits," she pointed out. "You'd have to do more clothes shopping."

"Oh you'd be surprised what the techies can do," he laughed. "Those outfits are perfect."

"I dunno," she argued. "Something in my hair might be a better idea. A comb or something. I suppose it might fall out. At least in those outfits, the only thing in danger of falling out is me."

"Well that would certainly take whoever was checking you s'mind off what they were doing." He smiled with that look in his eye again.

"True," she conceded. Christ, it was day three and they were still circling around each other. "Lord knows what you could hide in those baggy, gangsta jeans. Don't they fall down when you chase them?" She was trying to get back to safe conversation ground; out of the minefield they seemed to be making for each other.

"I don't wear baggy, 'gangsta' jeans. And I know you know that."

"Well of course not," she stated. "Otherwise _your_ pants would fall down." Fuck. So much for safe conversations.

"My pants only fall down when I want them to." He was definitely giving her that look. "Not like some people I know."

Jesus. What did she do with that comment? Clearly he was referring to having to pull her out of her pants.

Sean raised an eyebrow and grinned. Got her with that one.

The image of Sean with his pants down, filled her head. Fuck. Was she drooling? _Partner... partner_. Wait a sec... what was he doing? Was he actually offering? Her eyes narrowed at him.

Sean watched her thinking. Wondered was going through her mind. Then she squinted and he was afraid maybe he'd pushed it too far. Had he upset her? "Ah... you done? I guess we gotta get back. Actually do some work."

He couldn't resist one more crack. "'Cause this has been fun. I don't often get to pick out my partner's outfits."

"It's a first for me too," she admitted. "I have NEVER let a man choose my clothes before." Crap. Why did she tell him that?

"No? I enjoyed it." He was still giving her the look.

"Yeah well, I doubt you would survive shoe shopping."

"Well, we'll just have to see. I might like seeing you in some fuck me heels."

His eyes widened and he looked away. _Oops. Too much. That was way too much._

Jo pointed at him. "Cut that out! Or you're walking home." Her first reaction had been to run away, but she thought he might just be pushing the envelope to see where it was; if that made sense.

"Aw, c'mon. I didn't mean it like that. They would be part of your disguise. You'd have to practice running in 'em." He looked chagrined.

She supposed that was as much of apology as she was going to get. "Running? Nobody runs in fuck me heels."

"So what do you do?"

"Train my partner to run faster," she deadpanned.

"Hey! I am fast. I played football in school, y'know."

"There you go... don't need both of us to chase then, eh?"

He shook his head, laughing. He looked at her. He was always laughing with her. Laughed more in the last week than he had all year. "Guess you wouldn't have to, at that. You'd have me to protect you." He suddenly looked very serious. "I **will** protect you."

She couldn't help herself. She pressed her hand over his where it lay on the table. And he turned his over and caught her. "You believe me, don't you?"

It occurred to her that he might feel that he hadn't protected his wife. Was that what this was about? "I believe you," she said. "Besides... I am a stranger here. I know you will look after me." She was acutely aware of his hand in hers. It was so much larger than hers.

"Damn straight." He growled. C'mon, let's get outta here." He slid out of his side of the booth, pulling her with him. He had not let go of her hand. He continued to hold it all the way across the restaurant, even when he reached for his wallet.

As if he didn't realize he was doing it. When he went to pull his credit card out, he looked down at her and suddenly released her as if he had been burned. "Sorry." he murmured.

Jo was unnerved; she couldn't really pull her hand out of his. Not without a fight anyway and that would just look ridiculous. She could hang back like a two year old but he would probably just drag her out the door. Did she try to get something out of her handbag and pull her hand back? Besides, it felt kind of nice.

"It's okay," she comforted him. "I should go to the loo before we get back on the freeway." She scuttled off to give him some privacy. It looked for all the world as if he didn't mean to hold her hand. She didn't know what that meant.

Sean sighed as he paid the bill. Probably scared the shit out of her. He'd been clutching her so tight. Didn't even realize it. And her hand was so tiny. But it felt right.

He went outside to wait. Women took forever in the bathroom.

Jo used the bathroom and then she actually washed her face. She so needed to cool down. She pulled her brush out of her bag and fixed her hair, re-applied some lipstick and took some deep breaths. She was going to need a weekend off. Just to get a little space between them.

She found her keys and headed out to face her demon.

As usual, he was leaning on the car, unusually, he wasn't smoking. When she unlocked it, he slid into the seat without looking at her. "Sorry", he mumbled again. "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"Hurt me?" she repeated as she pulled out. "No... just..." Her voice trailed off.

"Good," he sighed. "Sometimes I don't know my own strength."

She was not surprised by that admission. He was a pretty big guy. She gave him a worried glance. "Are you okay, Sean?"

"Yeah, 'm fine. I just... ah, fuck! I wasn't thinking, I guess. It felt good. Comfortable." His face was all scrunched up, as if it had hurt him to say that. He swallowed hard.

"Look, I understand... this is hard for you... " She was trying to concentrate on driving and having a heart to heart right now was difficult.

"You have no idea..."

"Actually, I don't... I've never lost anyone... fuck 'lost'... it's just not the right word is it?"

"Let's just forget this whole conversation, okay?" He was sounding strangled, again.

"Sure, if that's what you want." She tried to lighten it up. "Let's go catch bad guys."

He just growled and slouched in the seat, looking out his window. He was obviously through talking for a while.

"DEA," she said to the GPS. She might as well get used to it now. The screen lit up and the machine started to draw her route for her. She followed it and left Sean to his own thoughts; it was all she could give him now.

Back at the office, they went to their respective desks. Jo was busy on the phone for quite a while. Sean did what he could to keep busy and finally wandered out into the main squad room. He was thinking about sneaking out to huff a quick smoke. He really wanted one. Hadn't smoked since he had run out of the clothes shop that morning.

Jo approached his desk with a name and address written on a piece of paper. "My contacts say this place is worth checking out... I don't know where it is. He seemed to think it was in our jurisdiction."

"Lemme see." He reached for the slip of paper. "Yup. Down by the docks."

"So do you think we should do some searches... find out who owns the property... see if it has shown up in a previous matter... if it has a history..." Her face lit up for a second. "Ohhh... can we do a stakeout?"

Sean looked dumbfounded; nobody_ likes _stakeouts.

"Actually, that's not a bad idea." D chimed in. "Been a while since we checked the area, anyway. You could do it tomorrow."

"I suppose." He wasn't looking forward to being locked in a car all day with Jo. Not because it was her, but because he would sweat and he wouldn't be able to smoke, either. Nor could he just use an empty water bottle to take a piss. It was going to suck. He glared at D, who just smiled back, innocent as the day he was born. Evil little shit.

Jo hurried back to her desk to do a search on the address.

Sean snarled at D. "You motherfucker! I'm gonna get you for this."

D just laughed at him. "Good excuse to get her alone, bro." He laughed some more when Sean went nearly purple and just spluttered.

"Whoa," interrupted Jo, "check this out... it's a wonder alarms didn't go off. There has even been a body dumped there. Or is that not unusual for the docks area?" She walked back towards the doorway and leant on the door frame.

"Nah, gangs dump 'em there alla time. 'S one a the Crips favourite spots." Gonzalez spoke up. He hadn't heard what D said to Vetter, but whatever it was really got under the agent's skin. He looked like he was gonna blow a fuse there for a minute.

"We don't get called for evr'y deader. LAPD picks up the trash most times."

"Idiots," muttered Jo. 'You can't just dump a body in the water and think it will sink... the tidal flow and all sorts of things affect it. Sometimes they scoot along the bottom and pop up in the same place, every time."

She got an odd look on her face as she realised what she had just said. "Sorry," she apologised. "I did some jobs with the Water Rats... ahh Water Police in Sydney."

All the officers that were listening looked at her a bit strangely. Gonzalez glanced at Sean and shook his head as if he felt sorry for him. He didn't. If Vetter fucked up one more time he was gone... and that meant an open slot. He decided to enlighten the Aussie, anyway.

"They really don't give two shits, sweetheart. Just don't want 'em in their own backyards."

Sean gave him a dirty look. "Harbour Patrol, here, Jo." He turned to face her. "But, he's right. They don't care. It's not like they hide the bodies... they just throw 'em out of a moving car."

"Hide the bodies? Yeah, I know what you mean. We had an incident where two bikie gangs happened to be on the same plane flight. They had a fight in the middle of the airport and one guy was beaten to death with a stand for those courtesy ropes. In the middle of the Airport. These guys think they are just untouchable... or else, they just don't care." She glanced at Sean.

"So we will need some equipment, cameras and stuff."

"Sure, we can get that now... set up and be ready for morning. Should probably use the truck. You car is too obvious." Sean nodded his head toward the hall. "C'mon."

They visited the 'techies' and got their equipment. Sean hauled everything to the garage. He and a couple of techs fitted it all in his truck. By the time they were done, it was late. Most of the agents had already left for the day.

Jo spoke. "I should head back to the house. I need to do some domestic stuff, buy some groceries..."

He gave her a puzzled little frown. "Oh, right. You really haven't had time, I guess."

"No, and I didn't have a car either. Is there a shopping centre close to the house? Ahh... crap... what do you call them?"

"Um, for food? Grocery store. Or if you need girlie stuff, maybe a pharmacy or department store?" He shrugged, apparently not particularly up on where stuff was.

Jo shuffled around some stuff on her desk. She felt awkward again. It felt kind of odd to be leaving him behind. She grabbed her bag and her keys. "Ah... okay then... I guess I will see you tomorrow. Hooroo."

Sean felt kind of strange. Actually saying goodbye. He almost felt like something was missing. Oh, yeah. Her ass in his hands.

"I'll walk you out." It just popped out. Now he was making excuses to keep her near.

"Oh," she blustered. "Okay then."

They walked to the elevators together. Silently. Not looking at each other. Very awkward.

She couldn't shake his hand or hug him. So she ended up giving him a pathetic little wave. She almost groaned out loud; it was appalling. "Tomorrow, then."

"Right. Sure. Eightish? We'll have time to grab coffee and lunch then."

"I'd like that," Jo said impulsively. Shit!

Sean had shut her door for her and now he literally had to think about letting go. His hands just didn't want to move. He finally pried himself off her door and straightened up.

He watched her pull out, standing there like a lost puppy. Sighing, he jumped in his truck and headed out for the long drive back to a silent, empty house.


	18. Chapter 18

**Jo**

It took Jo three goes to get what he had programmed the safe house under. In the end it was 'home', but it really wasn't. She was halfway there before she stopped thinking about how forlorn he had looked standing alone in the basement, and that she was supposed to be buying food. She couldn't live on takeaway all the time; it would make her crazy and fat and poor.

If they were doing a stakeout, it might be fun to pack a picnic for them both. She worked out how to get the GPS to display grocery stores and she followed it there. She parked and spent a minute reading the instruction book for the GPS. She needed to learn how to add things in for herself. She couldn't spend all her time trying to think like Sean.

She was fiddling with the memories when the list of programmed addresses popped up. She noticed he had put in his address as well as D and Candace's. He hadn't put in Sexy's she noticed with a chuckle.

She was still processing that as she wandered up and down the aisles. She hated shopping without a list, but needs must. Besides, it was easy; she needed almost everything. She tried to choose picnic things for them. Containers of dip, biscuits, and such. Oh. Maybe she could pack his lunch for him?

She almost smacked herself in the head. What was she doing? He wasn't a baby. So why did he give her his address? They were partners. It was not unexpected that she might need to go to his house. She had an image of him, alone in the house where his nightmares became reality. She sighed.

She had paused where she was, staring blindly into space. She literally shook herself. Then she noticed a box of animal crackers. She had heard of them. She thought they were a treat for American kids. She'd buy them for Sean, to cheer him up. She made a little happy noise as she threw them in the trolley.

She chuckled at the thought that he would make some growly noise at her, but still be pleased. She lugged it all out to her car and headed home. She needed to wash her hair and she was looking forward to a quiet glass of wine. D had returned the bottle to her.

She showered as soon as she finished unpacking the groceries. And then she waved the hose over the plants in the back yard. Doing her bit to help them out.

She washed the outfits they had purchased together and hung them on a drying rack she found in the laundry. The last thing she needed was for them to shrink even a millimetre in the dryer.

She would put all the food for their lunch into a reusable chiller bag she had bought. She had made sandwiches for them both. She froze a couple of water bottles too.

She ended up turning on the TV just to make some noise in the background. It all seemed too quiet. She crawled into her bed and slept like a log.

**Sean**

He wandered to his vehicle and stood there for minute, just looking at the empty passenger seat. He could almost feel her warm cheeks in his hands. Sighing, he climbed in and drove out to the beach.

Pulled into his driveway and just sat there. Smoked a couple of cigarettes before he could force himself to get out of the truck and enter the house. It was just a house now. No longer a home. Hadn't been home for a long time. He wondered for about the thousandth time if he should just sell the place.

He knew he couldn't bring himself to do it. It was his last tie to Stacy. Probably why he had never bothered to fix the bedroom, too. Would it feel like home with another woman in it? Or just weird. He hadn't felt awkward with Jo there. Except when he almost kissed her. Maybe that's what he needed to do.

Kiss her, yeah. And more. But, would she? He knew she was thinking about it, but she kept pulling away. Had something against office romances, maybe? He couldn't blame her; they often got messy. But, God, he wanted her.

He wandered through the house, grabbed a beer and out onto the beach. To sit and listen to the surf and vegetate. Again.

Finally too tired to stay vertical, he dragged himself back in and landed on the couch. When he got chilled and tired of tossing, he reached for the comforter. It smelled like her. He bunched it up under his nose and finally fell asleep.

**The stakeout**

Jo dressed in the most conservative top from yesterday. She looked at the pants and decided against them; they were all just too tight. She could barely sit in them, let alone sit on a stakeout wearing those.

She slipped on a different pair of jeans. These rode a little lower on her hips and allowed a glimpse of her stomach between the top but it would have to do. They were stretch jeans and clung to her thighs but felt really comfortable. She found some larger hoop earrings and thought she would look the part. Although what part they were supposed to be playing, she hadn't quite thought about.

She excitedly packed her surprise picnic for them. Olives, dips, water crackers and sandwiches; it was a feast. And so much nicer than take out. The frozen bottled waters would keep it all cool and they could drink them as they defrosted. Maybe she should have bought a thermos for hot drinks? She sighed, maybe another day.

She put a change of clothes and shoes into a plastic bag and put it in the boot... trunk, of her car. You just never knew when you might need it. She got a memory flash of Sean pulling her out of her wet jeans. Yes well, she chided herself. Not that a change of clothes would have helped that situation.

All prepared, her gun, badge etc packed, she headed off for the office. She checked her watch, she might be a little early but she still had no idea about traffic. He had said eight o'clock hadn't he?

She pulled into the parking garage and looked around for him.

Her phone rang, startling her. It was Sean. "Where are you?" He sounded a bit peevish.

"Good morning to you, too. I just pulled into the garage."

"Oh, fuck! I didn't tell you I'd pick you up, did I?" She could hear him mumbling curses under his breath. "Okay, stay there, I'm on the way." The last thing she heard before he hung up in her ear was, 'Vetter, you asshole!'

Sean had rolled off the couch late and taken a quick shower before driving to Jo's. He was stunned when her car was gone. Where the hell had she gone? Oh, Christ! he hadn't told her. Such a jerk. He pulled out and flew to the office.

Everyone on the block heard his truck screech into the lot. And the smoke of burning rubber announced him quite well, too. He leapt out of the truck, slamming the door almost on himself and bolted for the elevator.

"Sean!" Jo yelled at him before he could leap in the elevator. She had stood there worrying herself sick. He had said they would use his truck, but was she supposed to infer that he would pick her up at her house from that? Shit! She was not even game to go up to the office floor.

He slammed to a halt and turned, looking for her. By her car, looking scared to death. Not surprising. He walked back to the sedan and looked sheepishly at her. "Sorry. I forgot." He stared at his feet. "I shoulda been clearer. Silly for you to drive all the way here. Now we gotta backtrack." He sighed.

"Maybe you could text me next time," she suggested.

He looked stupid. "Oh, fuck me. Of course. Guess I wasn't really awake." He shrugged and grinned. "Well, c'mon. Might as well get started. I brought you coffee." He offered, sheepish.

Jo heaved a sigh of relief. It wasn't her fault; she was worried for a minute there. She turned to get her bags out of the car. "Coffee is always good," she told him. She wondered about the change of clothes and then she decided to leave them in the car. "What about coming home? I mean is it out of the way to come back here to drop me off?"

"You're supposed to go out with Candace tomorrow, aren't you? You'll need the car?"

He was waiting by her door to lift her in. And he looked happy to be doing it.

She lifted the bags at him to show she needed to get rid of those first. She piled them in on the floor leaning over to do it. Sean stood behind her.

Sean couldn't resist. He put his hands on her thighs and slid them right up to cup her cheeks. He actually purred while doing it. Nice tight pants, so firm and warm.

She made a noise of surprise and spun around to face him. That might have been a bad idea.

He was grinning like the Cheshire cat.

She had to lean back a little to look up at his face; an even worse idea as it pushed her hips forward. She clutched reflexively at his arms. She remembered wanting to squeeze his biceps and now she had her hands locked around them.

And he was staring right down the front of her shirt. The grin got wider, yet. His eyes got that glow in them. Then he just lifted her straight up like she weighed nothing and plonked her on the seat. Her legs were almost wrapped around his waist. He wasn't moving and he had not let her go.

Jo could not have said what made her lift her legs up; they were perfectly fine where they were. Although where they were _now _seemed much nicer. She thanked the gods that she had put on the most conservative top. She might have been in more trouble otherwise. It suddenly occurred to her that he still hadn't let her go. But then again, she was still hanging onto his arms, so maybe he was waiting for her?

Sean nearly gasped out loud when she lifted her legs up. Instinctively his hips rocked forward. And she was clutching his arms for dear life. Felt good. He breathed a little heavier. Was gonna be a looong day.

She forced herself to let his arms go. She clutched her opposite wrist and folded her arms across her chest, blushed like a tomato and muttered, "Sorry."

"For what?" His voice had dropped about two octaves. His eyes were liquid chocolate. And he sounded like he was panting, out of breath. He took a deep breath. And backed off. _Stop pushing, Vetter. You're freaking her out. You're gonna scare her away. Too fast, too fast._

She opened her mouth to answer him, but realised she didn't know what to say. _Sorry for rubbing myself on you like a cat in heat?_

And that voice... dear God, she didn't think his voice could get any lower. "Just sorry," she tried.

He just looked puzzled and shook his head, with a little grin. Walked around and bounced into his seat. "Ready?" he growled, as he turned the key and gunned the engine. It sounded like he was asking if she was ready for something besides a stakeout.

She resisted the urge to fan herself with her hand. "Coffee?" she asked. That was safe.

He smiled widely. And looked at her. "There's a thermos for each of us behind the seat. Yours is the red one." The only way to get at it was to turn and kneel on the bench and reach over.

She was going to have to stick her ass in the air, but she really wanted that coffee. Yeesh, he couldn't get it for her? He was driving but still, she thought American cars came with a dozen cupholders. They couldn't put one in easy reach. Probably wouldn't hold a thermos she supposed.

She made some kind of grizzle noise, undid her seatbelt and clambered over the seat, reaching behind it. He did this deliberately, she would swear to it.

Sean purred, watching her wriggle around. Sweet. He reached over and held his arm across her thighs. Couldn't have her fall now, could he?

"Eep," she squealed. Goddammit. "Keep your big paws to yourself," she grumbled at him.

"Didn't want you to lose your balance. Spill coffee on yourself. You remember what happened the last time." He laughed.

She clambered back with her coffee clutched firmly in her hand. "Yes, I do. I nearly broke your nose. It would **really** hurt now, if you got banged in the nose … again..."

"Ah, but you hit me before I took your pants down. I'm ready for it, now." He grinned unrepentantly. "Some women scream... you flail." He shrugged, "It's all good."

Her eyes narrowed at him. "Yeah? And what do you do?"

"I don't really know. I guess I'm not concentrating on that. You'd have to find out for yourself." He positively leered at her.

_Idiot Jo. You left yourself wide open for that one._ She thought of a number of responses: you took my pants off when I was unconscious, the first time... No. I could take _your_ pants down... No. I could make _you _scream ...No. In the end she just humphed at him, tried to ignore him and drank her coffee.

He looked at her a couple of times, but she wasn't talking. He decided to try again. "Jeez, I bring you coffee and you couldn't even hand me mine?" Now she'd have to lean over the seat again... he hoped.

She gave him a look. "And how exactly, is it my fault if you didn't put it in your driver's side cup holder?"

"It won't fit... too big." He raised an eyebrow. Another obvious statement. He was still grinning.

She'd fix him. She handed him the open thermos. He took it before he had thought about it. He couldn't put the lid on, and drive. She hoped. She scrambled over the back to grab his before he could man handle her again.

Sean immediately thrust her container between his thighs and almost slapped her ass, he whipped his arm across her so fast. He chuckled, which became a loud belly laugh at her expression. "You didn't really think that was gonna work, didya?"

He looked up at the road, "Oh, fuck! I just missed the exit. Your fault."

She _so _regretted packing him the cute little picnic now. It was her own fault; she should have put a stop to this days ago. But a small part of her was rather enjoying it.

She couldn't think of anything to say, so she did the truly irritating childish, "Ha hah" at him and poked out her tongue. _Pathetic, Jo._

"Oh, honey! If you do that, you'd better mean it." His voice was subterranean.

Jesus. She shivered. She had to distract him. Food. That would do it. She rifled around in her bag and triumphantly pulled out the box. "Animal cracker?" she offered.

"That depends.. what kind of animal would you like me to be?" He looked at her sideways and it did appear as though he would quite happily eat her. "You gonna feed me?"

Jo rolled her eyes; if he could manage to hold a thermos and drive with one hand, he could hold a biscuit surely. She was studying the biscuit animals. "How come they are all naked except for the monkey? He has little pants and a hat. What is up with that?"

"Because he is the **organ **grinder's monkey, of course." He laughed at her.

"Hippo?" she offered.

She reached over and stuffed the hippo biscuit into his mouth. He tried to bite at her fingers. "Watch the road," she chided him. "You'll miss the next turn off."

"Mmmph." He swallowed the cookie. "Sweet. Can I have some more, please?" And he made calf eyes at her.

"What do you want? A tiger? Giraffe?"

"Ooh, yeah! A tiger. And fingers." He snickered. "You a tiger, Jo?"

"Hate to be obvious, but you know the saying. 'don't bite the hand that feeds you'." She ignored the tiger comment.

"How 'bout if I just suck on 'em a little?"

She waved the tiger biscuit at him. "Behave. Or no tigers for you." She held it in front of him. "Are you going to be good?"

He made little sucking noises and laughed. "Awww. You take all the fun out of it." He gave a long-suffering sigh. "Okay. And by the way. I'm always good... very good." And opened up like a baby bird.

She gave him another look, but quickly dropped the tiger into his open mouth. He just crunched it up. "Would you mind handing me my coffee, open? They're a bit dry. Since I don't have anything else to moisten my tongue with." They had reached his turnoff and he actually paid attention to where he was for few minutes.

He didn't really expect her to grab it from between his legs did he? "Shit stirrer," she said as she reached down to lift the thermos delicately by the extreme top edge.

"Don't worry, he don't bite." He just laughed. "No teeth and only one eye."

"I will hit you," she threatened him. "Right in the nose... again."

"You gonna make it bigger than what it already is? Then the rest of me may have to do some growing to catch up." He snickered wickedly. And waggled his brows.

She opened his coffee thermos, holding her own between her legs. "You've done all the growing you are ever going to do."

"Mmm. But I may swell some more." He was moving much more slowly now. Beginning to look around. Jo noticed him changing. Paying less attention to their bantering. "We're close to where the body was found. Keep your eyes open."

Now he sounded like his normal self. He was like a chameleon. Completely focused on what he was doing and what was going on around them.

She was still holding his coffee, waiting for a chance to pass it to him.

"What was the street number again?" He nearly whispered.

"1254," she said.

"Next block." He crawled slowly to the corner. Then backed up and pulled to the curb facing the wrong way so they could see the whole block. He turned the engine off. Slouched down in his seat. Reached for his coffee. "Thanks."

"You brought the camera gear?"

"Glove compartment."

She pulled it out, made sure it was all on the right settings and ready to go and then placed it on the seat between them.

She watched for a while in silence, then held the crackers box out to him.

"No, thanks. Maybe later." He rolled his head to look at her. "Listen. If somebody comes by, I might not have time to warn you. So don't freak if I just grab you quick and pull you into my lap. You understand? It's just work. I don't mean anything more than keeping under cover. Hookers bring their johns down here a lot."

So what was the banter before about then? That wasn't work. She'd be willing to bet on that. "So I have to play hooker?"

"Probably not. Just in case." His eyes turned molten again for a minute. "Unless you want to."

"Humph. What do you with D?" she asked mischievously.

"Well, now. That's different. D looks like he belongs in 'da hood'. You don't." He shrugged. "'S what I meant before about you being distracting. You are distracting."

"Distracting?" she repeated. "Oh, before I forget... have you got Candace's number? I need to call her and arrange this weekend thingamy."

"Now? You wanna call her now?"

"Why not? Instead of the ho and the john, we can play girlfriend on the phone and long suffering boyfriend waiting for her to finish."

"Long suffering is right. Hold on. I guess it can't hurt. Just keep your voice down. And no squealing!" He dug out his phone and scrolled though his contacts. "Here." He handed it to her.

"You are ruining my cover," she whined. She copied the number into her phone and then dialed it. "She's not at work or something is she?" she hissed at him while she heard it ring.

He only shook his head, watching a derelict stumble vaguely in their direction. The man stopped before he got close and slid down the side of the building into a heap. He had obviously passed out and they could hear him snoring from the truck.

Sean relaxed again, sipping his coffee.

"Candace, Hi... it's Jo... just calling about this weekend... yeah..." She glanced at Sean. "He's good... we are kind of busy... no... lots of sitting around... uh huh... so what's the plan... uh huh... uh huh …" She squeed and did her little fist shake thing. Sean growled.

She rolled her eyes and whacked him in the thigh. "That was Sean... " She laughed.

He mouthed at her, "Higher next time."

She pointed at her own nose and raised her eyebrows. He covered his nose with one hand and pointed at his lap. And closed one eye.

She rolled her eyes again. "Sorry, Candace what was that? Sean's distracting me... uh huh … ohhh really? Fabulous..." She pointed at the building; trying to remind him he was supposed to have both eyes open.

He gave her a blatant once-over, sighed and looked out the window. Whimpered. Sniffed. Peeked at her. Sniffed again.

She tsk-tsked and waved her pointer finger at him, still listening to Candace.

He stuck out his lower lip and pouted. She cradled the phone on her shoulder so that she had both hands free and helped herself to coffee.

"Omigod... really?" she said.

The one-sided female conversation was beginning to get to Sean. He frowned at Jo and made hurry up, then cut it short motions. Wiped his hand over his face. Stared out the window. Shifted in his seat._ Jesus! What the hell were they blabbering about?_

Jo watched him and eventually said, "Well I should go... I'll pick you up... no, no trouble... yeah...I'm playing the Ho I believe... he swears he doesn't do it with D... just to ease your mind... okay ...hooroo." And she hung up.

Sean could hear Candace laugh right through the phone. He hissed at Jo in annoyance. "Thank God! Why does it take so long to set a time?" He shook his head. "I coulda done that in three sentences."

"You don't arrange pick up places at all, as I recall," she reminded him.

His head snapped around and he scowled. "I apologised for that. You gonna hold it over my head forever?"

"Fine fine..." She watched the building. They sat there silently for quite a while.

He sighed.

She heard him sigh and suddenly thought what might be part of his problem. She hadn't seen him with a cigarette for days.

"Did you give up smoking?"

"I'm sorta trying... again." He looked at her. "Bitchy, huh?"

"Pfft," she said at him. "You've been pushing the envelope* all morning. But its good that you are giving up... that shit will kill you... you know that?" [*testing boundaries]

"Yeah. Lots of other stuff will kill you a lot faster. Pushing the envelope?"

"All that... banter … and flirting..." Crap, he _was _flirting. She'd look like a right idiot if he wasn't and she was whining about it.

"You think that was cause I'm not smoking? What, I'm just trying to think about something else? Well, I was, but it had nothing to do with quitting." He looked at his lap. "You make me crazy." It was barely audible.

"Oh..." well he kind of made her crazy too. "I don't usually date coworkers," she blustered.

His head snapped back up and he said way too hopefully, "Usually?" A brow lifted and he smiled. "Does that mean you might?"

"Ahh... " Truth was, she had been thinking about it too. She just hadn't decided what to do about it.

Realizing she was getting uncomfortable, Sean decided it might be smart to change the subject. "You hungry, yet?"

She gave him a thankful smile. "I packed some stuff for you," she confessed.

"Yeah? That was sweet." He grinned, "Like what?" He leaned over to reach for the cooler. It put his head in her lap. He came up with the bag and realized she had frozen. "Uh... sorry?" But he was hungry and started rummaging around to see what was in there.

Jo had frozen because she was fighting an almost irresistible urge to touch him... again. And the image of his head in her lap just made her breathless and caused places low in her to tighten. She wondered that he couldn't hear her heart pounding; it sounded so loud to her. Her pulse rushing in her ears.

She caught a movement in the mirror. "Car," she said.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

She caught a movement in the mirror. "Car," she said.

"Right." He was watching now, too. From the side of one eye. He leaned his head back as though he was asleep. But it went straight past without stopping. False alarm.

She heaved a sigh of relief. He still had the food bag. "Can I have a sanger?"

"A wha?" He dug around in it. Then handed it to her when he couldn't find a 'sanger'.

"Sorry, a sandwich," she explained. She took one, unwrapped it and took a bite.

"Aha. What did you make?" He was already munching her crackers.

"Ham, cheese and tomato," she replied. "I know the tomato makes them soggy but I like it anyway."

"Classic. Good enough." He held out a hand. "Pass one over."

She did. She dropped it into his hand as she kept her eyes on the building.

"What else ya got?" He mumbled, mouth still full.

Good lord, had he eaten that already? Inhaled it more like. "Do you eat olives and dip? I've got some stuffed green olives and the dip is hummus. I was surprised to find it here, actually. Had a little moment of home sickness for a falafal roll." She looked at him. "It's the late night, post drinking food of choice in Sydney, or a kebab," she explained.

"Hummus, huh?" He grimaced. "You a health food nut?"

"No, I'm a good food nut. LA has Mexicans and Sydney has Lebanese. A Lebanese banquet is a great, cheap dinner choice."

"Hah... we got everything here. You name a nationality, they got a 'hood."

"Sydney is not quite so demarcated, but all the best Lebanese restaurants are in one street close to the main Central Railway Station."

"Oh," Was his noncommittal answer. He had pulled a bottled water and unscrewed the cap. He needed to wash the dry crackers down. No way was he putting any of that brown crap on his food. Looked like dog shit.

Sean sighed. Now that he'd eaten and drunk the water, he had to relieve himself. And he couldn't do it in the truck. Fuck. He was gonna have to get out. "Uh, you wanna look the other way a minute?" He gave her a slightly pained expression.

"Why?" she asked suspiciously.

"Jesus! Why ya think? I gotta piss. Were ya gonna watch?" He cracked the door. She noticed the alarm did not go off. He must have disabled it. He turned and slid down, leaning back slightly and unzipped.

Jo kept her eyes glued on the building. She heard him sigh in relief. It seemed like he was peeing for an hour.

Of course, now he had done it, it made her think about it too. She squirmed a little in her seat. Because he had turned the truck to face the building, she was on the road side. If she wanted to get out of the car, she would have to climb over him.

She had prided herself on not taking a piss with the guys in the field. It was alright for guys; they just whipped it out. But women had to get undressed if they were wearing trousers. And there was no way she was hanging her ass out for scrutiny and the shit stirring to follow.

Sean looked and felt a lot more relaxed when he slid back in and eased the door shut. He glanced at Jo. She didn't seem happy. He frowned slightly. _Fuck! Don't tell me. Never thought about her having to go. Now what? _He looked around. Nothing came to mind immediately. Wait, there was a dumpster behind them a short ways. Maybe...

"Uh... you okay, or do you... you know?" _How the hell did he ask her?_

"I'm good," she stated; sounding more like she was trying to convince herself.

"There's a dumpster back there. You sure?"

"I'm sure." She started looking at her watch.

He snickered. "Don't do that. Only makes it worse. I'll watch for you, if you have to go. Make sure nobody sneaks up on you." He was grinning again.

She gave him a look; the last thing she needed was to be hanging her ass out for Sean. Oh thank goodness, a distraction. "Car," she warned. She reached for the camera.

"Okay... don't say I didn't offer. And for God's sake don't have an accident. These seats are leather."

She took a shot of the car; on motor drive, she got a couple of the driver as well. She lowered the camera a touch and got another shot of the license plate. "I won't piss on your seats. I've got great pelvic floor muscles." _Fuck! Why did I tell him that]_

"Really? Good to know." He looked absolutely delighted. And his eyes were shining... again.

She rolled her eyes... again. She resisted saying anything about her big mouth, he'd probably just run with that too. She tried very hard to ignore him. She was getting twitchy though.

Silence reigned in the car for about ten minutes before she finally admitted to herself that she was going to have to use that dumpster. She squirmed a little more.

Sean watched her fight nature, amused by her stubbornness. He was trying not to laugh. Had to clear his throat a couple of times.

She glared at him.

"What?" He practically snorted it. "Want some water?" He lifted the bottle he'd almost finished, shook it, and drained it.

Her eyes narrowed. "Partner shot tragically on stakeout," she said in her best newsreader voice.

Sean spluttered, choking on the last swallow and turned beet red as he tried to get some air. He was shaking, he was laughing so hard. Water even dribbled out of his nose. He wiped his face. On his sleeve.

"Oh Jesus," Jo begged. "Don't make me laugh."

He **looked **at her and slapped both hands over his face, trying to keep it quiet. Wasn't working. He gave up and guffawed.

"Oh that is IT!" she hissed at him. "Let me out of the damn car..."

He gurgled something and slid out again. Offered her a hand. Holding onto the door to stay upright.

Jo clambered over the seat, but then she noticed the giant puddle of piss from Sean's earlier toilet break. He was standing in it. She looked down pointedly.

"Ah, fuck!" He squalled and danced back onto the sidewalk. He glanced up at her. She looked so pleased. He made a face and shook one booted foot. Shrugged and said, "At least I know where it came from."

She snorted and jumped from the truck, so that she missed the puddle. She scuttled down the sidewalk heading for the dumpster.

Sean caught her before she'd taken two steps and wrapped an arm around her. "Play along," he growled in her ear. Then he kissed the top of her head.

She would have argued with him, but she was not sure she was going to make it to the dumpster.

He hurried, sensing she needed to and pushed her behind the big green container. Then he turned his back, standing so he blocked any view of her from the street. He even held a handful of napkins that he shoved behind his back.

Jo was surprised by his consideration. She made sure she didn't get piss on _her_ shoes. She couldn't hold in the sigh of relief. She wiped herself with the napkins and threw them in the dumpster. She took a glance at Sean's broad back as she pulled her jeans back up and buttoned herself in. She wiped her hands down her thighs.

She touched him on the back to let him know she'd finished. "Thanks for the napkins, Sean."

"Any time, honey." he chuckled. "Really had t' go, huh? Didn't think you were ever gonna stop."

"Says Mr giant piss puddle. That was a first for me, I'll admit..."

"No, you already took your pants off with me. Twice." _Oh, shit!_

"Once, I was actually awake," she reminded him.

"You're right. I took them off before." He leered at her. "Both times, actually." He looked at her out of the corner of one eye. She didn't look annoyed. "So, I guess I owe you, don't I?"

"No, it's okay. Should we get back to the truck?" She was starting to think this was normal banter for Sean. The kiss on the head? She didn't know what to do with that. Play-acting? Yeah right! Hos don't get kisses.

"Oh, okay." He sounded disappointed. But he moved out a little, lifted his arm to wrap around her again.

She looked at him. They had almost completely destroyed this stakeout. But she supposed she ought to keep trying. She slid in under his arm and put her arm around his waist.

He took a quick, deep breath when he felt her arm slide around him.

She tried to keep pace with him as they walked, but they just didn't match; and they weren't used to doing it. She giggled as she had to take a little extra hopping step.

Sean smiled down at her and shortened his stride. Slid his hand down so it was tucked under her arm. His fingers just touched the outer curve of her breast.

She was acutely aware of his hand and the fact that she was held up against him. She concentrated on the truck, but then another problem occurred to her. What were they going to do when they reached the truck?

Sean was wondering the same thing. He was going to have to literally pick her up and toss her in to avoid his puddle. It was going to be awkward. Unless he just scooped her up and slid in that way. It might look better anyway. Just in case somebody was watching them.

He murmured, "Don't freak. I'm gonna pick you up." He opened the door and reached in to tilt the steering wheel up out the way. Then he turned around and looked at her. "Okay?"

"Are we playing hos and joes or boyfriend/girlfriend?" she asked in a whisper.

"Doesn't matter. As long as we look like we're only involved with each other." He smiled. "And it's johns."

"I think I make a better girlfriend," she said. Then she blushed as she realised what she had said.

"Me, too." He had that look again. "Oh, yeah." They certainly looked involved in each other; neither was very aware of anything else. He lifted her up and squeezed her close to his chest. Then he just stood there for a minute. Damn, this felt good.

"Fuck," he whispered. He couldn't tear his eyes away from hers. He was drowning. Big blue pools. "Oh, fuck, Jo." He was almost gasping for breath.

"Sean?" she asked worriedly. He looked like he was having a panic attack. Her arm slid up behind his head. She pulled herself up a little. "You okay?"

"No", he murmured. "I hafta. Sorry." And he kissed her.

Jo was stunned. He was kissing her. And part of her knew it wasn't play acting.

He was vibrating. His arms tightened more, crushing her against him. He couldn't breathe and he couldn't stop. She tasted so sweet. Lips so soft and warm. He was gonna just stay like this forever.

She felt weak; she had been trying to talk herself out of this since she had first met him. He overwhelmed her; pushed at her. He was such a presence. So strong. He held her effortlessly and for once, the safe part of her lost the argument. She opened her mouth a little and she kissed him back. 

_She's kissing me! _His mind screamed at him_. She's kissing __**me**__! _ He growled into her mouth and thrust his tongue between her lips. _Oh, God! She's sweet! _

He turned automatically, pressing her against the inside of the door. Slid into the seat. Settled her on his lap. All without releasing her mouth. His hands were all over her. In her hair, sliding up and down her arms, her ribs. Cupping her ass. He actually moaned.

Jo had lost time. She suddenly found herself in the truck. She was on fire; everywhere he touched her burned. And she was straddling him and pressing herself onto him. Her hands were clutching at him. She dimly heard him moan; and he was hard below her. She was eating at his mouth. She needed to breathe. She pulled her head back and took in a gasping breath.

Sean was on fire too, and shaking with desire. He hadn't wanted to let her go. His face following as she pulled away. "We gotta take this somewhere." He gasped. "I wanna do this right." His face still only six inches from hers, his big hands trembling as he cupped her cheeks. "Please, Jo. I need you."

She was a little amazed by his self control. She wasn't entirely sure that she could have stopped. But he was right; she didn't want to fuck him in the truck. She knew he was so fragile; the tortured look on his face when he nearly kissed her in the kitchen. And here he was, making a very large step down the road to recovery. It was against all her rules, but her heart hurt for him.

It was the 'please' that undid her. And she did want to fuck him; that was obvious.

"You're just worried about your leather seats," she whispered at him. She reached up and held his face in her hands. She kissed him again; gently and then she ground herself onto him. "Yes, please," she said.

"You want it now?" He whimpered. "I'll give you anything you want."

"I want you naked, not doing that in the car," she pointed out.

"Oh, my God! I don't think I can wait to get back... can we do a motel?"

"It'll have to be close." She kissed her way around to his ear and nibbled on his earlobe. "As long as it has a bed."

"There's one not far." He reached around her and turned the key. Pulled the door closed. Snugged her up against him and readjusted the wheel. He obviously wasn't letting her go.

"Can you drive?" she asked. She almost snorted at the thought that he could probably drive better than he could walk right now. She curled in against him and tried to stay out of the way. She had to keep touching him.

"Oh, yeah. Done this before." He pulled out and made several quick turns. He was on the San Diego freeway in minutes and pulling into the Los Alamitos Holiday Inn only minutes after that. He had driven the whole way with one hand on her. Like he was afraid she'd disappear if he let go for a second.

Jo was busy praying they didn't get pulled over. She tucked herself down as far as she could.

Sean parked in front of the office and tried swallowing her face again for a minute. Then he let go and sighed. Opened the door. Slid out and sat her on the seat. It was hot from his body.

He grinned at her. "Be right back. Don't go anywhere." He literally ran inside.

Jo would have offered to book the room for him; his need was obvious. She took a minute to pack up and hide the camera stuff; they were being unprofessional enough. The last thing they needed was the only shots they had managed to take being stolen out of his truck. She slid her bag over her shoulder; no way was she leaving her gun in the truck.

Sean flew back out, grinning from ear to ear. He jumped back in... he'd never even turned the engine off. She slid over the seat tossing the remains of their lunch onto the floor. She didn't think he'd mind right now. He pulled down to the end of the row and around to the back. Took a deep breath. Got out and reached for her.

Pulled her out of the truck and lunged toward the building. When she stumbled, he just scooped her up. Tucked her into his arms and slid the key card into the lock. He couldn't wait to see her face when the door opened.

Jo just went with him. She had said 'yes' after all. She chuckled at his urgency.

Sean swung the door open and paused for effect. Then he stepped in, grinning. And turned full circle so she could see everything.

Jo had been sitting up, reaching down his back, bunching up his t-shirt ready to pull it off him, but she stopped when she saw the room. Holy fuck; he booked the Honeymoon Suite! AND he'd just carried her over the threshold. The door clicked shut behind them.


	20. Chapter 20

"Not bad, huh?" He was so proud of himself. "The guy behind the desk musta thought we were newlyweds. He just gave me the room for the regular rate."

She had seen him as he sprinted into the office; she had no doubt that he had made quite an impression on the poor man. "You frighten him into it?" she quipped. She dropped her bag to the floor.

"Yeah, maybe. I did say I was in a hurry." He put her on her feet for a second, threw pillows off the bed and stripped back the bedspread with one hand. She shucked off her boots while he did that. He saw her hopping in place and took off his own boots, before he scooped her up and set her gently in the middle of the bed.

"But I'm not now." His voice had dropped into the basement again. He stood and just looked at her for a minute. "God, you are so beautiful." He pulled his shirt off and crawled onto the bed beside her.

"Oh thank God, I wanted that shirt off so badly," she moaned as she finally gave herself permission to run her hands all over him. His body bore the marks of his career and maybe some from his history. He'd been shot, more than once. And knifed too. Some other scars just below his ribs, looked like the result of surgery.

His eyes closed and he moaned again. "Don't stop. Don't ever stop. Your hands are so soft. Feels like an angel touching me." He lay down on his back... obviously he had to. "C'mere."

She clambered eagerly onto him. She sat up, straddling his stomach. She reached for the hem of her shirt and lifted it straight over her head; shaking out her hair as she did so. She threw it off somewhere on the floor.

"Oh, my God." He kept repeating himself. "An angel. Gold halo and all." He stroked his hands through her hair. Her hands ran up and down his arms. She couldn't get over the colour of him.

"Take your bra off, Jo. I want to see you. I've been dreaming about what it would look like when I put my hands on you. You're so pale. My little snowflake angel."

She gave him her 100 watt smile. "I never tan," she confessed. "Barely get any marks... just a few freckles..." She leant back, pressing herself onto him. She pressed her legs in against his body.

Her hands reached up behind her and unhooked her bra. She held herself at the front for a second. She looked at his face. He was watching her intently. She let the shoulder straps fall down and then she slowly pulled the bra away from her body and down her arms. She blushed a little.

"Jesus!" He slowly reached out and cupped her. "They are pink. Just like I imagined." His thumbs caressed her nipples, making them stand up and stiffen. He licked his lips. "I wanna suck them. Can I?"

"You can do anything you want," she breathed at him. She barely recognized her own voice.

He shivered under her, almost snorting he was breathing so hard. His hands slid around her ribs and he pulled her forward so he could reach. Kissed first one then the other so gently. His breath fanned her chest. Then he licked her and wrapped his lips around one nipple, his hand coming back to cup the other breast. He suckled at her, almost whimpering, sounding so needy. _So sweet, like cotton candy_.

Jo's hands clutched at the bedding below him when he pulled her forward. His mouth was so hot. When he suckled at her, she made a whimper noise of her own; her back arched up and she pushed herself into his face. Her hand shifted to his shoulders and her nails pressed into his flesh. She was grinding against him again.

"Mmmm." He purred. The deep vibration would go right through her. He suddenly rolled them both over. Still with his mouth on her breast he tried to speak. "Pants. Gotta get 'em off."

He was bent over, fumbling at his waist, but refused to let go of her.

"You taking mine off too? Third time's the charm," she chuckled as she undid the waistband for him.

"Oh, yeah. Fuck, yeah." He finally let her nipple pop loose and straightened. He stood right where he was and tore his pants and shorts off together. Then he put his hands on her hips and pulled hers off, too.

Jo looked up at the unforgettable sight of Sean, standing over her naked, hard and ready. It made her mouth go dry. Before he was reaching for her clothes too. "Oh yes... hurry..." she begged him.

As soon as he heard that, he dropped back to his knees. Leaned down and kissed her soft, milky belly. Stuck his tongue in her navel. Purred again. His hands stroked down her hips and over the tops of her thighs, brushing her little patch of blonde curls.

He kept kissing as his head moved lower... and lower. He nuzzled into her. Pushed her thighs wider. Breathed over her moist lips. Then he took a deep breath and tasted her. He moaned again. Licked deeper. Sucked at her. Like a starving man at a feast.

His shoulders were so wide and so muscled. He was all she could see as she looked down at him. He was kissing his way down and she was squirming and moaning under him; her hands reaching for whatever she could. His shoulders, his smooth head. She tried to watch him, but the second he sank his face into her, her eyes closed and she gave herself up to just feeling him.

He couldn't wait any more and slid a finger inside. So hot. She clenched over him. He heard her soft moans and she was wriggling in enjoyment. He looked up to see her, eyes closed and a beautiful smile on her face. She kept trying to reach for him.

He couldn't hold off any longer. Wanted her hands on him. Wanted her heat around him. He crawled back up her, only pausing for a minute to kiss each sweet pink nipple. He pushed a knee between her thighs. "Let me in, Jo. I want you so much."

"Sean... " She moaned. "please... please..." Her eyes were open now, but they looked wild.

"What, Angel? Tell me what you want." He kissed her eyes, and then her nose.

She could hold him now; not that she had a hope of getting her arms all the way around him, but she tried. She tried to lift herself up against him. "You..." she begged. "Want you..."

"You want me inside? You ready?" He breathed in her ear. "You're so hot inside... gonna burn me up." He slid his other knee between hers, reached down and lifted one leg up onto his hip. "Set me on fire, girl." And he slid home.

Her head snapped back. "Ahhh..." she cried out. He was buried to the hilt inside her.

"Yeah!" He echoed her.

Her eyes seemed to clear and she focused on his face.

Sean was no longer aware of anything except the glorious feeling of being buried in Jo. His eyes were half closed, a crooked, ecstatic smile creased his face. And a tiny frown of concentration put a little 'm' in his forehead.

She raised a hand and touched his lips; so gently with the end of her fingertips.

His mouth opened and he sucked them in, flicking his tongue over them. Then he let them slip out and kissed them. He was moving a bit faster now,his nostrils flaring as he pulled more air in. "Oh, God, Jo! Oh, my God!" He kept making little 'hnnh' noises.

She wanted to kiss him, but he was too tall for her and woe betide he stop what he was doing. She lifted one leg and wrapped it around his waist, trying to pull herself onto him. She could feel the muscles of his back bunching under her fingers. She could feel herself winding up.

"Almost," she told him. "Oh yes... just like that... oh..." her voice was rising.

"Please baby, come for me. Please!" He was begging her. Really rocking her now, he moved faster yet and deeper. He had his elbows over her shoulders, locking her in place under him. She could feel his back hunch up as he lifted himself at the end of every stroke.

She was going to lose it big time; her head was almost flailing from side to side. "Oh...oh..." She sank her nails into his back as she wailed and shuddered under him. Her internal muscles locked onto him.

"Ahhh! Yeah! Come on, baby." His head flung up and his back started to arch. He almost screamed, "Oh my fuckin' God! " And froze for almost a minute, pumping hot come into her. His hips twitched spasmodically. Then he just collapsed with a shudder.

Jo couldn't breathe; it wasn't just his weight lying on her. She was having trouble doing almost anything at all... except for lying there feeling him panting above her. She took little shallow breaths and wrapped both legs around him. She didn't want him to move.

Sean barely twitched when her legs came up around him. He still wasn't really back from wherever she'd sent him. He gave a soft little grunt to acknowledge he wasn't dead. Close, though. Now he understood what they had meant in school... 'the little death'. Oh yeah. He could die this death every day.

Finally, he took a deep breath and realized he was probably crushing her. "Lemme up, Angel." He whispered. Couldn't speak any louder. Throat was so dry.

"Awww..." she whined. "Can't you stay here?" She kissed his chest.

"You breathing okay? Cause I'm not." He chuckled. "I think I'm dead... gone to heaven. In your arms." He kissed the top of her head.

She snorted. "That's why I've got my legs around you... can't reach with my arms."

He laughed out loud, reached down and peeled her off. She made a small noise as he pulled out of her. Then he flopped over onto his back. His eyes popped open and he hissed. Ouch! He arched his back a little. Shoulders stung. She must have scratched him.

She noticed his hiss. "Omigod. Was that me?" She couldn't remember doing it.

Sean rolled up onto his side facing away. The sheet came with him, stuck to his back. "How's it look?" He tried to peer over his shoulder. "Bad?"

"Well you don't need stitches... I am so sorry," she apologised.

"Never even felt it." He growled. "I'll heal."

"They need to be washed..."

"Mmm. Later." He was sounding very drowsy. He rolled back over, put his head on her chest and arm over her middle and just snuggled up. Seconds later, he snored.

Jo had been going to go to the bathroom, but there was no way he was letting her go nor could she shift him without a crane. She lifted her thigh onto him, wrapped her arm around his head and closed her eyes.

"Mmm." He purred.

"Typical man," she grizzled quietly at him. "Fall asleep straight after."

He never even twitched. Just breathed deeply and evenly, sound asleep.

**Jo**

Jo's eyes flashed open. It didn't take her long to remember where she was; Sean was still holding her. She studied him and made a small happy noise and she kissed the top of his head where it still rested on her chest. His eyes were closed; those beautiful, soulful chocolate pools hidden away.

She froze.

_Oh dear God_.] They were cuddling. She never cuddled. Cuddling implied comfort, closeness and affection. Her pity fuck was glued to her. If he had leapt out of bed and showered immediately, or was sleeping on the other side of the mattress, she would be safe. She would know it was just a one time thing. But this?

She had just made her life a whole lot more complicated. Or a whole lot simpler, a small voice whispered in the back of her mind. Simpler? How could it be simpler?

She was an Australian in LA. He was... well he was Sean Vetter. He was an ex-gang member; probably had a criminal record; he still looked dangerous. He just gave off a 'don't fuck with me' aura. She would not be surprised what he had on his record.

He was multi-racial; she had never even asked what he was. Australia was the second most mixed race place on earth after Israel; so that really wasn't an issue. She imagined her mother's face when she brought him home.

Fuck! She said 'when' not 'if'. She tried to breathe.

But Sean was also wounded; damaged and she cared about that. She almost squirmed under him as she allowed herself to admit that she cared about him. She had an intense physical reaction to him when they first met, but now... Christ, she wanted to fix him. And their heated encounter showed they would have no problems in _that _area. She had never made anyone bleed before; she had lost her mind. A true out of body experience.

Jesus! She was picking out curtains.

She was kidding herself; he would never leave LA. He might travel, but this was his home. He would stay here with his friends and his dead wife and where did that leave her? If he cared for her and she left; she was just breaking him all over again? He was fragile, clearly. Would she shatter him? Could she do that?

He was like the plate you banged too hard on the counter. It looked okay, but another hit and it would fall to pieces.


	21. Chapter 21

The afternoon was well gone when Sean finally took a deep breath, stretched and rolled over. He growled contentedly and passed one hand down Jo from shoulder to knee. So soft and silky. He loved touching her skin. And she was so pale she glowed. He wanted to see his hands on her again.

He turned his head, smiling. Looked up at her face. Lost the smile and tensed up. She did not look happy. _ Uh, oh. Mistake? _ _Now, what? What do I say? Thanks, it was great, see ya at work? Shit, how can I work with her now?_

He cleared his throat. "You okay?" It was quiet and scared-sounding.

Jo could have kicked herself. She must have looked half panicked to him. She said nothing.

"I, uh... I guess I should get you back. You wanna shower first?" He wasn't looking at her anymore.

"I was just thinking..." She was almost apologising for it. "That's all..." Crap. She didn't know what to do. Something had changed between them.

Sean rolled up to sit on the side of the bed, facing away from Jo. He put his head in his hands. "I'm sorry, Jo. I don't know what came over me. If this was a mistake and if you don't want to see me any more, I'll talk to the Cap. See if we can get you a better partner." He sounded crushed already.

"NO!" she almost shouted it at him. His back was facing her. A physical reminder of what they had just done... together. "I... I... I don't know what I want right now." She reached out and touched his back; she couldn't _not _touch him. "This has all happened so fast... I don't do this...it's just... you..." She stumbled to a halt.

He twitched when he felt her hand. "It's okay, Jo. You don't have to sugar coat it. Just tell me to go away if you want. I won't bother you again." He sighed. "I'm sorry if I fucked up your life, too. I've certainly done a good job with mine."

She wanted to hug him. He was hurt again. She clambered around his body and shoved herself under his arm and into his face. "That was..." she looked like she couldn't think of a word. "I've never bloodied anyone before, Sean... I just don't know what this means... for... us..."

He was already going to apologise, again. "I didn't hurt... us?" He inhaled hard. "You did say... us?" _Does she mean that the way I think?_

He was so not a one night stand. She was an idiot, but it was done and Jo Buckle always tried to get what was best for her out of any situation. She had done some major thinking of her own recently and then Sean had happened. Co-incidence?

"Sean... I have made a lot of major changes in my life in the last couple of weeks... I'm kind of … lost." _Shit she sounded pathetic_.

"You wanna take some time to think this through. I get it. Whatever you need, Angel."  
>He finally put his arms around her and hugged her.<p>

"I've moved countries, I don't know how long this job will last, I never expected **you** to happen."

Sean snorted. "Me, either. I was prepared to hate you... Hell, I tried to. Hard."

She chuckled. "That's part of it, too. I'm just so different to you and what you normally deal with. Are we too different? I don't know. So it's not a 'no'; it's a 'maybe'. At least for me... I don't know what you want." She worried that sounded harsher than she meant, so she kissed him. She sat in his lap and wound herself around him and she kissed him.

"Can I wash your back for you?" she offered. "Shit! My car is in the garage!" she suddenly exclaimed.

"Yeah. We gotta get back... I guess." He sighed heavily. "But you can wash my back first. If you really want to. It stings." He rolled his shoulders. 

_If she wanted to?_ "Oh **yeah**... I mean I imagined what you would look like in the shower that time at your place..." She seemed to catch herself, and then she clapped one hand over her mouth.

"Did you?" His face broke into a very happy and satisfied grin. "Hmmm." He stood with her still in his arms and carried her into the shower. Didn't put her down until he turned the water on and adjusted the temperature. Then he stepped in and set her in front of him.

He let her wash his back, and as much more as she wanted. Then he insisted on washing her. Shampooed her hair, too. And dried it when they got out.

_There were too many mirrors in this bathroom]_ Jo thought. She had told him they were different and that was immediately apparent in their reflections. They were complete opposites: male/female, coffee/cream, large/small, you name it... they were opposite.

She loved washing him. He had more scars on his left leg that she hadn't noticed before. Washing him was oddly not sexual; especially after what they had just done, but it was comforting and almost affectionate. He arched and purred under her hands. She thought about having sex again, but they really didn't have time. This connection would suffice.

Sean stood quietly, letting her do as she wished. Just watching her. So tiny, and delicate looking. But she wasn't delicate. She had a core of steel. He loved the feel and look of her hands on him. So lily-white. Soft. Tender. He sighed. Realized he had missed a woman's touch. More than he thought possible.

But it was time for them to go. He grabbed towels and wrapped her up. Carried her out into the bedroom and sat her on the bed. Tousled her head and chuckled when she squeaked.

They really hadn't said much to each other. Both wrapped up in their own thoughts. Lord knew **he** had a lot to think about. Probably her, too. He dressed and waited for Jo to comb out her hair. Wanted to do it, himself. Next time... if she let there be a next time.

She had dressed, sat on the bed to put her boots on. He kept touching her; watching her. Thinking. She could almost see the thoughts across his face. Lots to think about.

She checked her watch; they would be pushing it. She sincerely hoped they didn't run into anyone. She knew how she had kept blushing around him before; Christ knows what she would do now.

She looked around and found her bag; pulled a comb out to get out the tangles. Sean was still watching her. He looked earnest now.

"Are we good to go?" she asked. "I can do this in the truck."

"Sure, if you don't think the wind will tangle it more."

She looked around the room almost wistfully. "No, we should go." Then she remembered the shots in the camera.

"Right." He picked up the key card.

"Those shots I took, should we load them into facial recognition, check the license plate. Do some work," she said mischievously.

"Camera..." He looked toward the bathroom. "Damn, what a waste." Sighed. "Nah, it'll be late. We can drop the stuff off for now." He looked at her, frowning slightly. "Unless you really want to do it now."

She was suddenly nervous about going into the office. Crap! This was why she had rules; or used to have. "Whatever you think."

"If it's okay with you, I'm gonna drop you off. I... I have a stop to make before I go to my house. "He looked uncomfortable suddenly. "C'mon." Sean whirled and took off out the door. He walked around the building to drop the key in the office. He needed a couple of minutes to calm himself back down.

Jo had taken an involuntary step towards him; she wanted to hug him again. Instead he ran away. She took a breath and let him go.

She did a scan of the room, purely out of habit. They hadn't brought anything.

He was silent in the truck. She had clambered in by herself after he unlocked it. Before he got there. She had to climb half the door to do it. He gave her a look but said nothing. She couldn't have said why she needed to do it herself. It was too hard, she would have to let him hoist her next time.

After minutes of silence, she asked, "Can we listen to the radio or something?"

"Sure." He turned it on. "Whatever you want."

She left it where it was. She hated people who got in her car and changed everything.

The noise filled the awkward silence for them. She looked out the window, lost in her own thoughts.

Sean drove straight back, taking the shortest, fastest route. God, this was awful. All of a sudden he couldn't think of a thing to say. He almost couldn't wait to get rid of her. And she looked just as uncomfortable.

The contrast between how they were now and their endless banter of that morning made Jo feel queasy. It was only that morning wasn't it? It felt like days ago. She was feeling exhausted again. She was not sure she was even over her jet lag yet and now she was trying to deal with this. She was no good with emotional stuff. She'd had men in the past who complained about that. But somehow Sean had just slipped under her armour.

Sean pulled into the lot with a sigh of relief. And regret. Their day together was over. He was afraid it was going to be their last. Hoped it would not be. He drove into the garage to where she was parked. Now what?

He cleared his throat. "Well, here you are. I'll see you Monday." It sounded like a question. "Have fun with Candace tomorrow," then he looked away.

Jo was hurt. She knew they were in the DEA carpark and they couldn't be affectionate... not that she had even told him they would be... oh fuck... she hated this stuff.

She scrabbled around on the floor of the truck, collecting the remains of their lunch and stuffing it all vehemently into the cold bag. Removing the evidence. She thrust the box of animal crackers at him. They were probably stale by now, but for some reason, she didn't want to see it again.

"Here," she said as she dropped the box in his lap. "Monday," she repeated and she fled.

Sean jumped, startled when the box of cookies hit his lap. Jo was out of the truck by the time he opened his mouth. _Smart move, Vetter. If she hadn't decided to kick you to the curb, you just made sure she will. Fuck. I guess I will be talking to Frost on Monday._ He squealed out of the lot. He couldn't stand to be anywhere near the place.

Jo scuttled over to her car, unlocked it and threw the bags in behind the driver seat. She threw herself behind the wheel and sat there. She blinked away tears. "FUCK!" she shouted and smacked her head into the steering wheel. "Ow!"

She looked at herself in the mirror. Oh great. Now she had a big red mark on her forehead. She sighed... straightened her shoulders and said 'home' at the GPS. It took her three goes to get it to understand. Stupid thing. She drove a little more sedately than Sean, back to her safe house. 'Safe' she snorted. It was anything but. The things that had happened to her since she had moved into her 'safe' house.

She had already showered, so she changed into her pyjamas, poured herself a very large glass of wine and plonked down on the couch to watch TV. She found a classic movie channel and hunkered down. She thought about calling home, but she was sure she would just cry down the phone and upset everyone.

She had some big decisions to make and she had to make them by herself.

She doubted she could tell Candace what had happened. Jo worried that she was so protective of Sean, she might think Jo was using him. Jeez, what was she going to do?

Shop. That always made her feel better. With that thought she felt a little better and she brushed her teeth and fell into bed.

**Confession**

Sean had left Jo at the office to head home on her own. First bit of real work together and he had fucked up big time. Fucked her. He scrubbed a hand over his face as he drove. He had a stop to make, a confession. Needed to clear his head. Figure out what the hell he was doing.

He changed direction, turning off the freeway to Head for Inglewood Park and Stacy. He had to talk to her. Ask her to forgive him.

By the time he had driven the winding lanes and pulled up near where she lay, he was shaking. And he'd finished the pack of cigarettes... Christ, he'd only bought it yesterday. He sat in the truck and just breathed for a minute, not looking at anything.

With a deep sigh, he pulled himself upright and out of the truck. Shut the door softly. He walked slowly through the graves, his head down. Found where she slept. Knelt at her feet. Rubbed his hand over his face. 

_How the hell do you tell your wife you just had sex with another woman? That you're crazy about her? _Sean bit his lip and raised his head enough to see the bright white stone. With the angel on it. Jesus, he had called Jo his angel.

He took a ragged breath. "I love you, Stace. You know that. I'll always love you." His voice broke and he sobbed, once. Cleared his throat and tried again.

"I have a new partner. D's good, though. Don't worry. And Candace is gonna have a baby." Fuck, he was rambling. _Get to it, Vetter._ Another deep breath, not quite so shaky.

"She's from Australia. Here for a joint op. Her name is Jo. I... I like her, Stace. A lot. I tried not to, I really did. But, I miss you so much, baby... and the closeness we had. So much. She's so different... blonde hair and blue eyes." He laughed a little. "Can you imagine... me and a blonde? Never happen, right?" He rubbed his hand over his face again.

"Well, it has and I don't know what to do. Help me, Stace. Tell me what to do. I want... fuck, I don't know what I want. But, I can't keep on the way I've been. I want to live again, Stace. To feel something besides pain. You understand?

She makes me feel good. I've laughed more this past week than I have since... than I have for two years. I need to be able to laugh again. Or I'm gonna just end up eating my gun. I know you wouldn't want me to do that. It's the only thing that's stopped me up until now."

Sean leaned forward and stretched to put one hand on Stacy's headstone. He lowered his head and closed his eyes. Just stayed that way and tried to breathe. 

"I slept with her, Stacy. I didn't mean to. We were on a stakeout. You know how boring they are. We were just fooling around... joking. I **thought** I was joking. She had to pee... When I went to put her back in the truck... she's so tiny she can't climb in by herself... she looked at me and I lost it. I kissed her. And she kissed me back."

He shook his head and smiled, shame-faced. Snorted. "I took her to a motel. Shit, I haven't done that since you and I were teenagers and snuck out of school. You remember? We made love, Stace... at least I did. It wasn't just fucking. And I'm not even sure how she feels. I know she wanted it then, but I don't know if it was just this once... she may go back home when this job is done. I don't want her to. It'll break me."

He sighed again and wiped the tears off his face. When had he started crying? "I guess I gotta tell her, huh? Fuck! You know I'm not good with words. What do I say?"

A few minutes more passed silently, the big man just hunched over, his shoulders shaking as he silently sobbed. He heard tires on gravel behind him and realized the sun had set. It was probably the guard making sure everyone was leaving.

"I gotta go, baby. I'll be back, though. I want you to meet her. I'll see you soon."

He patted the stone and slowly rose to his feet. Rubbed his face and took a deep breath. Got himself back together. Heard the car behind him move on. Walked back to his truck and drove home.


	22. Chapter 22

**chapter 22 **

Candace had asked Jo to pick her up early. She said they had to start from the Hollywood Roosevelt hotel at 9am. She promised that most of the boutiques weren't open before 11 so they would have time to do some touristy things.

She was waiting outside the house and jumped in the car as Jo pulled up.

"Morning," said Candace. "LA here we come."

The hotel was a slice of old Hollywood. The place where Marilyn Monroe and Montgomery Clift lived and now supposedly haunted. The penthouse was even named after Gable and Lombard. They grabbed a coffee at Mel's diner and headed over to the Chinese theatre. Jo squealed when she found the stars of her favourite celebrities. She took a photo of the Kermit the frog star; he was an old favourite of hers.

Candace took her photo outside Grauman's Chinese theatre for her.

They walked up to Hollywood and Vine and took more photos of the Capitol records building and a couple of other landmarks.

Then they headed off to Sunset Boulevard and Jo took a photo of the street sign and the famous palm trees. She was blown away when she saw a film crew working at the side of the street.

"You mean they seriously film around the city."

"So often the residents are used to it. It's more irritating than anything else now. They stop the traffic, commandeer the bus station… whatever they need. Causes hours of delays."

"They filmed the first Matrix movie in Sydney. That's about as close as we get to star spotting."

"You want to do the Tar pits?" asked Candace. "Rachel loves them."

Jo got a look of disgust on her face. "Tar pits?" she queried.

Candace laughed. "Guess that's a no, then."

"Where is Rachel?"

"Play date with a school friend."

She told her to go the Grove. It was an outdoor shopping mall, so they could park easily. They walked around and looked at lots of boutiques. Candace convinced her it was all too expensive here. It was just the best place to park the car. They caught an electric tram over to the farmer's market and ate lunch from an outdoor stall. Jo was so pleased to get a dressing free salad with mung beans and a freshly squeezed juice.

They got back in the car and headed off to Rodeo Drive. Jo almost wet herself she was so excited by all the designer shops. It struck her as truly bizarre that all this was maybe three kilometres from south central LA; the gangland.

Candace took her to a shop that sold second hand clothes. It was called 'Its a Wrap'. Normally Jo wasn't keen on something that someone else had worn, but this shop specialised in clothes worn by the stars. She supposed that they got their photo taken so much and they got criticised for wearing the same thing twice. There were some beautiful gowns and Jo was so excited by the concept, but she just didn't have anywhere to wear anything like that. But this one was definitely going on her return list.

Candace convinced her that she knew where all the factory stores were. She said the best ones were a couple of hours outside of town but there was one close to town and worth a look just because of the building. The Citadel Outlets was located off the 5 Fwy at Atlantic Blvd. North. Some of the stores were BCBG, Billabong, Calvin Klein, Guess, Kenneth Cole, Levi, Nine West and Tommy Hilfiger.

Jo could not believe the building when she saw it. "It looks Mesopotamian or something… how bizarre… this was a tire factory?"

"Yeah, back in the 1920s. I suppose its good they didn't knock it down. It's pretty unique," laughed Candace.

She found a red pair of pumps to die for, and for a great price. She squeed in excitement much to Candace's amusement. Having a small foot was a bonus at outlet stores.

She and Candace had managed to avoid any tricky subjects; like Sean. They had discussed D, Rachel, the new baby, Candace's plans for the future. What Jo's plans were. In fact they had pretty much discussed everything except Sean. That was deliberate on Jo's part. She was still processing their afternoon of passion. What did Americans call them? A nooner? They had taken a nooner on a stakeout for God's sake. It didn't get much more unprofessional than that.

"We'd probably finish with Venice beach for the muscle beach at sunset, but I am just worn out," Candace commented.

"Oh, don't worry, I've seen it at Sean's," Jo said.

Candace looked surprised. "The muscles?" she teased.

"The sunset." Jo blushed. Truth was she had seen the muscles too. And more. She blushed again.

She had to come up with something before Candace made something up to fit. "We had a bit of an accident at Mamacita's. I think that is what it was called. On… ahh Thursday?" Jo looked mortified.

"I am so accident prone sometimes. I waved my arm around, smacked Sean in the nose and made him bleed," she confessed. "We had to go back to his house to deal with his nose and change his clothes. It was pretty late by then so we ate dinner, and watched the sunset." She shrugged.

"You?" said Candace. "You were the gringo who smacked him?"

"I suppose…"

"Oh that is too much…I heard about that…"

"No," prayed Jo. "Tell me it is not all over town."

Candace just laughed. She kept laughing periodically on the car trip back. "Oh wait until I tell D it was you" she crowed. "Maria told us all about it."

Jo had half a plan in her head about who to talk to about Sean; Big Sexy. Sean had said he was like a brother to him. He would be the person to ask. But she didn't have his number.

"Candace can you give me Sexy's mobile number? We were talking at the barbie and he offered to do a tour for me too. Los Angeles through Sexy's eyes would be pretty different, I should think."

"Sure." Candace told her the number and she wrote it down quickly. Still faster than trying to log it into her new phone.

Jo dropped her home, and headed back to the safe house. She was very happy with her shoes. And also pleased that she had managed** not** to buy anything else, other than some food for them both. She insisted on paying because she argued Candace would never have gone there except for her.

She did some minor house things. Unpacked and hung up her clothes properly. Sorted stuff into drawers and put the suitcases away. She would have to get some more coat hangers, the next time she shopped.

She spent a pampering evening; redoing her nails and conditioning her hair. She drank a glass of wine and watched some television.

She remembered Sexy's number quite late, so she sent him a text instead. He phoned her back within minutes.

"Hey girl…wassup?"

"Ahh," _how on earth did she do this?_ "I wanted to ask you some stuff about Sean and I thought it might be easier if we do it face to face so would you like to have brunch tomorrow or something?" Australians were often accused of speaking too quickly but that was just gobbledegook.

He did hear 'brunch' and 'Sean'.

He offered to meet her at a place. He gave her the address and said he would meet her at 11am.

Jo felt a little guilty. But she needed to understand Sean better. She had sex with him, but she didn't know him. It was madness on her part. She was never this impetuous.

She slept badly. She tossed and turned and worried herself into an exhausted sleep when the streets were eerily silent.

She arrived early; she was worried about getting lost, or not finding a parking space or any other myriad of disasters that might befall her. It was the lack of sleep. She was a wreck. The café had an outdoor area and she grabbed a table for two in the sun, but with an umbrella so she didn't get sunburnt.

She ordered a coffee while she was waiting; she needed it. She read a newspaper she had grabbed from the rack.

Sexy snuck up on her. Hard to do, he was 6ft 6 and a very big man, but she was very distracted. He had a small Chihuahua tucked under his arm, wearing a bejewelled collar that matched Sexy.

"Dis Capone." He placed the dog on his lap as he sat. They ordered.

"Now, girl. You tell Big Sexy whachu worried over?"

"Sean," she sounded tentative.

"Yo his partner… why would I tell you anyt'ing 'bout Sean?"

Good point. It could be considered disloyalty. She liked Sexy and he loved Sean. She decided honesty was the only thing that would work here.

"Sexy, I will be honest with you." she sipped her coffee nervously.

Sexy noticed. "Spill."

"I think he is in trouble. Have you noticed? He's not sleeping well; he drinks too much, smokes too much, and doesn't look after his diet. How he can live in that house, the way it is, I do not know."

"Whoa, whoa… you been in Da House?" he said it with capital letters.

She looked surprised. "Yes…why?"

Sexy sighed. "oohhhwee… you know 'bout Stacy?"

"That she was shot… in the house."

"They had a party dat day. I be dere. D, Candace, Frost, everyone. All the homeys. Da shooters came dat night."

She felt worse for him. To go from a happy family day to the terror of assassins entering your home in one day. It was too much.

"He unconscious for a loong time. We took care of her for 'im. Buried her 'fore he eben opened his eyes. He spent weeks in da hospital; recoverin' from da surgery."

She remembered the scars she had seen on his body.

Sexy continued. "He never cleaned the house. For weeks afterwards, champagne corks on the floor, half full cups, party mess… shit, he left her voice on the answering machine."

Their food arrived.

Sexy looked unusually serious. "Girl, he wouldn't let us clean it up. Initially we couldn't even go in…"

"Crime scene," she interrupted. "Yellow tape."

"Yeah. After that, Sean wouldn't let us."

She wasn't really eating; she just pushed it around the plate.

"Her stuff… it's all in the bathroom… he's sleeping in the guestroom… up stairs. I think there are still bloodstains on the walls. There's definitely bullet holes. "

Sexy raised a brow.

"I got drunk with him and we both slept on the lounge."

"Damn girl, you done got further'n any of us. Dis great news."

"Well… I don't know about that…"

She ordered another coffee. She glanced at Sexy but he shook his head. "That's the problem," she continued. "That I seem to be the key to his recovery. This is a temporary job. I do not know how long I will be here. Or how serious I want to get."

Sexy gave her a very pointed look. "What happened, Jo. You tell Big Sexy everytin'."

"He seems to be keen on me. He almost kissed me at the house and then had a full on panic attack. He locked himself in the bathroom until I talked him out."

She gulped at her coffee. In the end she picked up the small dog to give her something to do with her hands.

Sexy just waited for her to continue.

"Friday we had a nooner," she whispered. "I don't know what to do. I've never behaved like this before… this is all so fast… I have known him for **days**…" Capone gave a whimper as she squeezed him too hard. She lifted him up and let him lick her face. "Sorry little guy," she apologised to the dog.

After getting permission from Sexy, she fed him some bacon pieces from her plate, but only after she had put him down on the ground. Just because she was learning bad habits, didn't mean everyone should.

Sexy looked like he was deep in thought.

"Do you have any advice for me?" she asked nervously.

"Whatever you's doing is workin'. Keep doin' dat. If you really t'ink you can. Dis his last chance, Jo. He done fucked up bad in the past. Bossman told him if this job don't work out wit you, den it's his badge."

"Temporary job… if I leave… he'll be worse… and I don't know if…" She almost felt like crying. But that wasn't going to help her problems.

"Whachu you both decide?"

"Nothing… yet… but Sexy, he's a mess… how can I get involved with a mess?"

"Girl, you done already gone dere."

"I thought I was just visiting America... but you guys have a whole different culture... I never realised..."

Sexy looked pleased. "I can help you dere, teach you what you need to know."

Sexy paid for brunch; he was so pleased to hear that Sean was thinking about the future. He did warn her that Sean could be possessive; especially over what he considered 'his'.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

**first fight?**

Monday, Sean snuck in to the office early. He needed to catch D, make sure he didn't say anything to Jo about their little foray into South for more info. She would probably be all excited from her shopping trip. He grinned thinking about how she wriggled and hopped around when she got excited. So cute.

And he wanted to get her opinion on some decorating ideas. He had decided to fix the house. Figured it was time he stopped living in the guestroom. But he wanted it completely changed... no bad memories left.

He was returning to his desk, when he heard her come in behind him. That cheerful little 'g'day, mate!' echoing down the hall. It instantly put a smile on his face. Too bad he was staring at Gonzalez.

And being the asshole he was, he just had to open his trap. Naturally shit spilled out. He obviously had heard her, too, but didn't realize she was right behind Sean.

"Hey, dog! You hit that, yet? Some primo ass there, bro!" Sean's face darkened in instant rage. His eyes widened and he lunged over the desk. He grabbed the other agent and punched him in the face roaring, "That's my **partner**, Gonzalez, you fucking piece of shit!"

Everybody in the office froze. Sean dropped Gonzalez, who sat, stunned, his hands over his bloodied nose, and stomped into his office. He sat behind his desk, rubbing his sore hand, shaking and snorting like an enraged bull.

Jo was so looking forward to seeing Sean and here he was, pummeling Gonzalez. It was way too early for this surely? She had seen Sean move fast before, with the gang guys in the street, but this was different; this was another officer he had attacked. He was defending her, but surely he could have picked a better way? He was so angry, it frightened her a little. She tentatively made her way into their office, her eyes huge with concern.

Pissed at being put down in front of the rest of the office and wondering at the extreme reaction, Gonzalez spoke again. "If **she's** your partner, why were you running with Hicks on Saturday?" The stupid bastard just couldn't let it go.

Sean's head lifted and there she was, a coffee in each hand. Staring at him like he had just slapped her. He just looked at her, his mouth open. She was wearing the clothes he'd picked out. The red top and black spandex pants. That little 'm' she had thought was cute appeared in his forehead. He swallowed, no wonder Gonzalez had made a comment.

Jo pulled herself together enough to put the coffees down on the desk. She walked over to the door. "Yeah Gonzalez, primo ass," she called out to him. She turned, waved her booty (she thought that was Americans called it) at him. "You can't touch this..." she sang and kicked the door shut.

She heard laughter from outside, so she thought it had worked. She sat heavily at her desk and looked at her partner. She had spent almost the entire weekend stressing about him, in one form or another and here he was making it worse for himself?

"What the fuck, Sean? I can look after myself... I don't need you to defend me and... you went out with D?"

His scowl got deeper. "Nobody talks about a woman like that in front of me. He's a pig. D? We go out alla time... so what?"

"He's a pig that **you** have to work with. You cannot go around smacking down every person you don't like. You won't have a job. AND that wasn't what he said and you know it. He made it sound like you were doing cop business with D."

"I know." He sighed. "I have been really careful." He glanced at her and his eyes went back to his hands. He rubbed his knuckles again. "D and I checked out a couple of really tough spots. I didn't want to risk you."

"Risk me?" Her eyes narrowed.

"You're my partner. I have to protect you." His voice had gotten very quiet. "And we have another stakeout to do. If you think you can stand me all day."

"Why would you bother?" she asked. "Woe betide I get exposed to some kind of danger..."

He looked up at her, "Bother?" He growled at her, "What the hell does that mean?"

"You can't protect me, by your definition... which clearly means not let me do anything... and consider me your partner. You are supposed to have my back if we get into trouble, not leave me at home so I never see trouble!"

He leaned back, the chair protested again. One arm flung back over the top of the seat. Sean glared at her, obviously not hearing her. He repeated, "Bother?" He came back down and suddenly stood. "I guess I made a mistake. I thought I was important to you. You are to me. I'll go tell Frost you don't wanna work with me, then."

She stood in front of the closed door. She made a small noise of frustration. "Bother doesn't mean that you are an irritation... although you are right now... 'Why would you bother' means why would you want to do that? That's all. And you can't ask for a transfer... it'll cost you your badge."

"I want to because I care, which was exactly my point. If I **didn't **give a fuck, I wouldn't have 'bothered'! His voice had risen. "Sorry if that offends you." He slammed the chair into the desk. "And why would you care if I lose my badge? Not gonna affect you."

He was really working himself into a rage. He was unbelievably pissed. How could he have thought this woman would understand anything about him? "You'll just go home when this all over and forget everything."

"We haven't even seen each other or spoken since..." she struggled for a word. "Friday. And we cannot have this discussion now," she hissed at him. "The entire office is listening."

He interrupted her... "You don't want to, do you." It was a statement, not a question. "I don't give a fuck!" He yelled again.

"I haven't had time to decide anything." She made a huge effort to calm herself down. "Please... sit down... drink your coffee... "She took a small step towards him, her hands held beseechingly in front of her. "Please, Sean."

He seemed frozen in place. His hands were fisted at his sides, and he just breathed. She could see his jaw muscles bunching.

She reached down and tried to hold his hand. In the end she just put hers over it and rubbed small circles with her thumb. "Sit down...please... you are just panicking at the minute and that isn't like you."

Sean broke with a little huffing breath. Before Jo could react he had grabbed her, picked her right up and smashed his mouth over hers. He whispered nearly silently, "I'm so afraid of losing you. I don't want to lose you." He put her down and collapsed back into his seat.

Jo was stunned by his confession. She risked a glance at the frosted glass and prayed that nobody had seen that. She had to touch him. She slid his coffee over at him and put her hand on his shoulder.

He had hunched himself up after setting her back on her feet. When he felt her hand, he sighed and leaned into her. She didn't hate him after all. He took a deep breath. Looked up at his partner. "Maybe we should try and get some work done? Talk later?"

It was his way of saying 'sorry'. Trying to be reasonable in a situation where reason had gone out the window days ago.

She gave a small chuckle. "That's exactly what I was about to say." She smiled at him and rubbed his shoulder a little. "Yeah, later."

"Ahh. You can do that all day. I'll just sit here and shuffle papers." He sighed. She could feel the tenseness starting to leave him.

They both noticed a sudden flurry of sounds from beyond the door. It had been completely silent until now and neither had realized it. Sean looked up at Jo, guiltily. "Oops."

She sighed. What was done was done. "Now," she huffed all business-like. "What came back on those photos and why do we need to do another stakeout?"

"Uhhh, well on Saturday," he winced, "D an' I got wind of a 'nother drop. Might be goin' down in a coupla days. We need to watch for the Bones. See if they're doin' a meet with their suppliers."

"Okay... "she risked another small smile. "I don't have a picnic packed this time."

"But, I liked your 'picnic'. Just need to pack a few more sandwiches." He grinned. "Or I'll have to find something else to eat?" He risked looking at her.

"Humph," she said. She was glad to see bantering Sean back. "Location," she reminded him with a pointed eye glance at the office.

"Right. Behave." He sighed. "You are going to complicate my life something awful."

"No more than you..." she stopped suddenly. She hadn't made a decision; had she?  
>His brows rose and he smiled wider. "Really? That's good." He frowned slightly. That little 'm' was back. "I think?"<p>

_Back to reality, Vetter_. He thought for a moment. "We should stop at Big Sexy's. See what he's heard. Pick up lunch, too."

"Sounds like a plan." She didn't admit to seeing Sexy on the weekend. She would deal with that if it came up. She thought Sexy would be smart enough not to say anything either. She picked up her untouched coffee. "Now?" she asked. "Which car do we take?"

"We can take yours to Sexy's and get lunch, then come back and switch before we relieve D and Franco." Sean hoped she wouldn't be pissed, knowing the stakeout was already under way.

"Humph," she snorted. "Started without me, huh?" She opened the door, walked out into the office a little and called back over her shoulder, "Can we go by the firing range? I feel like shooting something." She gave Gonzalez an evil smile.

"Me, too." Sean looked at Gonzalez and didn't smile. He had almost paused by his desk, but seemed to think better of it at the last minute. He lengthened his stride to catch Jo.

"We don't really need to go, if we don't have time. I was just shit stirring," she whispered to Sean as they waited for the lift.

"I know." He whispered back. "I just wanted to make sure he remembers." He snorted and rubbed his knuckles. "Nobody fucks with my partner."

"Will he lodge a complaint with HR?"

Sean laughed out loud. "That pussy? And risk being called a coward by everybody? No way."

"Good. I was worried," she confessed.

"I told you. I will take care of you. Whatever it takes. Even if I hafta beat the shit outta him." He looked at her. "I know. You can take care of yourself." He shrugged. "Just so you know... I got your back."

Jo shut her mouth; that was exactly what she was going to say.

The elevator arrived; they stepped in, punched the parking garage level and stood uncomfortably with the other occupants. Jo watched Sean. He looked calmer now; more controlled. She wasn't sure a stakeout was a great idea right now, with them being so awkward around each other. She sighed again.

Sean kept glancing down. Jo was a million miles away. Thinking, he surmised. About them? Probably. He wanted nothing more than to jump her again. But he was trying to restrain himself. As long as she gave him a chance. He had questions himself. Later. Focus on work. He sighed. Stuffed his hands in his pockets so he couldn't grab her.

Everyone else got off on other floors, leaving the two of them alone.

She watched him, all hunched up and looking unhappy. She tried to make conversation. "So Sexy's place is the opposite side of town? You said we could swing past here on the way back."

"Sure. We'll need the truck for later, anyway. But you need to practice driving and Sexy is way up the valley. It's not a bad ride, though. And you get to go right through Beverly Hills and Burbank. Hell, we might even see a movie star." He laughed, like it was no big deal.

"Long way from the hood," she suggested as they exited the elevator.

"Indeed. Just what he wanted." He shrugged. "Hasn't interfered with his business, though." He looked thoughtfully at her. "His clients seem to appreciate the country atmosphere, too." Just to see her reaction.

"Business must be good," she said diplomatically.

Sean chuckled. "There's always a market for the 'equipment' he sells."

"Uh-huh," said Jo unlocking her car. "You'll have to put the address in the GPS for me, or would that be a problem for him? SAC Frost knows him, doesn't he?"

"Yeah, but they pretty much leave him alone. He does give us a lot of good info on the gangs and drug runners. He **hates** those assholes. And he won't sell to kids."

"A man of principle, then," she chuckled. Sean laughed, too. Seemed like she was relaxing a bit. It made him feel so much better.

He decided to risk a further question. "We should do a real picnic, when we're off, I mean." He glanced at her. "Would you like that?"

"Yeah? Where would we go?"

"Oh, hell, I don't know. There's like a million parks... the beach. We could even go to Disneyland or the Seaquarium. Wherever you want."

This was sounding more like a date to her. She thought back to that almost brutal kiss in their office. He was pushing again. "We can talk about it closer to the weekend," she offered.

"Oh. Okay." He sounded almost disappointed.

"We should get going," she reminded him.

"Right. You need to get on 5. North toward Santa Clarita. Sexy's place is in Valencia." He snickered. "Wait 'til you meet his guard dog."

"Valencia... like the oranges I suppose."

"Yeah, I guess. Never really thought about it." He was frowning a little. She didn't want to? Maybe he was pushing? Or maybe she wanted to get going. He'd wait. For now.


	24. Chapter 24

**Sexy's **

She glanced at him as she drove out. She knew he wouldn't take 'later' as an answer about the date thing. At least not for very long. She kept her eyes on the road, watching the GPS, checking her mirrors and trying to learn the roads as well. Too much to do and watch Sean. When she stopped at a red light she looked at him. He was staring out the window; not in that poised ready way he had. He looked pensive.

Sean glanced at Jo as she drove. Her head was obviously involved with where she was going. Didn't want to talk apparently. So he just stared out the window, not seeing anything. Not even thinking, really. Just waiting.

They were nearly there. The area was full of new houses; very well to do. Sexy was social climbing. Or maybe it was the ultimate cover; a neighbourhood of people busy earning money to pay off the huge mortgage and not taking much notice of what was happening next door.

Big Sexy was a hard man to not take much notice of. She parked in front of the house the GPS indicated. Sean pointed silently as well. The drive was full of other vehicles of various kinds; mostly black and super shiny.

"Wow," she commented.

"Yeah. Nice, huh." Sean jumped out and headed around the car and up the front walk. "C'mon, Jo. Sexy don't stand on ceremony." He was at the front door. Had it open already.

Jo followed him. "Hold up Sean, I've got new shoes on." She was wearing the red pumps she had bought with Candace on Saturday. It was dumb; she knew that, but she had another, older pair in her bag just in case they started to rub.

Sean stuck his head in the door and bellowed, "Sexy! Yo! Where you at?" A strange  
>young man Jo had not met wandered in from the back of the house.<p>

"Hey, Sean! My man! Where you been? Sexy out back." He stopped dead and did the double take thing. Looked back at Sean. "Bro, you know dere's a white woman followin' you? A damn fine lookin' one, too."

Sean growled fiercely. "You keep you paws offa dat. Dat's **my **white woman, 'Stafa."He reached back and pulled her forward. "Jo, this wiseass is Moustafa, Sexy's little cousin. 'Stafa, this is **Agent** Jo Buckle. She's on loan... From Australia. And she's my partner." Then he grinned and shoulder bumped the other, slighter man.

Stafa's brows practically disappeared into his hairline. "She a cop? Whoo, boy! Arrest me, officer!" He held out his wrists, dancing in place. "Please!" Then, more serious, he turned back to Sean. "What's up, bro? D... he a'ight?"

"Yeah, D's fine. On desk duty. Candace is gonna have a baby." Sean was still moving forward, pulling Jo along. He had not let go of her arm.

She waved with the other hand as he pulled her along. "G'day," she said.

Sean dragged Jo right through the house and out the back. Sexy was lounging in a big chaise beside a huge pool. There were several other people sitting around or swimming as well. It looked very peaceful and family-like.

Capone sat up when they came through the door and growled. He recognised Sean and started to wag his tail. Then he caught sight of the nice smelling lady he'd met the other day and jumped down. He ran up to Jo and danced on his hind feet. Begging to be picked up.

Sean looked from the dog to Jo and back. He frowned, confused. Capone never did that unless he liked you. Which meant he had met her before. He turned his head halfway to her and frowned. "So... you've met Capone?"

Jo had scooped the little dog up and held him under her arm, close to her face. "Well hellooo to you too," she crooned at him. But then she heard Sean's question. Fuck! Caught out by a dog.

She looked at him. He looked suspicious. "I didn't get a chance...ahh I forgot to tell you... I met Sexy on Sunday arvo for a drink and he brought this little cutie... didn't he..." Her voice rose as she crooned at the dog again.

Sean turned on Sexy. "What the fuck, man?" He growled it, mean and pissy. "What th' hell you playin' at?" His shoulders were hunching up again.

Sexy's eyes popped and he lumbered up out of the chair. No way was he letting Sean near him while sitting down with that look on his face. "Easy, Sean. We just talked."

"You 'talked'? About what? What could you possibly have to talk about with my partner?" His complexion had darkened, too.

"Stop it, Sean," she interrupted. "You've already punched one person today, I think that is your limit. Which reminds me, Sexy you got any ice? Sean needs to soak his hand."

Sean glanced at her. "My fuckin' hand is fine." Then he turned on her. "How did you find him, anyway?"

"From Candace."

"What?" He bellowed it at her. "What the hell did you tell **her?"**

"Anything I fucking wanted!" she yelled back at him. "What, you decide whose phone numbers I can have now?"

"Whoa! Le's jus' dial it back now a bit. C'mon, I got neighbours, y' know." Sexy stepped between them. "C'mon, Sean. You know I never do anyt'in' to hurt you, man." He looked at Jo and sighed. "She was just worried 'bout you."

"Worried about me?" He scowled at her. "What?"

"Ohhh," she screamed in frustration and stamped her foot. It was unforgettable in the lycra pants.

Sean watched her throw a temper fit and couldn't help himself. He smiled. Then he snickered... she looked about 15. Like a little fresh high school girl. Sexy grinned, too and chuckled. And that was unforgettable... he jiggled all over.

Jo snorted and giggled herself. "Dammit Sean, why wouldn't I be worried about you?" she asked. "I mean you clocked* another officer this morning." [*clocked=punched in the face]

"He called you a whore in front of the whole office... and you are my partner." He stated flatly. Not the least bit repentant.

She looked confused. "He did? I thought he said I had a nice ass."

"Oh, yeah. 'A primo ass'... and he asked if I'd hit it, yet." He growled. "What did you think he meant?"

"Well I know what 'hit it' means," she blustered. "And we..." she stopped suddenly and blushed like a tomato. The small dog wriggled under her arm and she took the opportunity to put him down; hiding her face.

Sexy looked at his friend. "Sean?" Sean took a deep breath.

"Can we get rid of the audience, Sexy?" He sat down.

"Sure." The big man replied. "Everybody outta the pool." He waved at them. "Now, innna house. Alla yas." He sat back down himself. "So. It seems Jo has good reason to worry, eh?"

Sean looked at her. "I don't know. Depends on what she's worried about." He may have been answering Big Sexy, but he was watching her face. "You really thought you had to ask Sexy? You couldn't just come to me?" He scowled. "Did I scare you that bad?"

"Scare me? Not in the way I think you mean. More likely I am scared for you, not of you." She sat on a recently vacated chair.

"I'm okay, Jo. I'm not gonna do anything stupid." He sighed again when Sexy looked at him with brows raised. "I went to talk to Stacy. I think she'd be okay with this," his voice was barely audible. He was staring at his feet.

Sexy sighed and relaxed. "Dat's good, then." He patted Jo's knee.

Jo gave Sean a quick glance, she was worried he would lose it again. "Thanks Sexy... but this isn't actually what we came here for. Though its good cover, I suppose," she chuckled.

Sexy snorted. "I al'ays watch out for my homies. It's all good. Haffa dem boys inside be dead, dey wasn' here." He turned to Sean. "So, what you need?"

Sean explained the situation, and the information they were seeking. Sexy sat, nodding, a thoughtful expression on his face.

Jo scooped up the little dog again, he was begging adorably at her feet. "Watch those claws little guy, you pull a thread in these pants and Sean will be upset," she warned him. She was listening and absorbing the guys' talk.

Sean finally ran down and Sexy said they should wait. He went inside and made some calls. Sean sat quietly watching the ants between his feet. He was afraid to look at Jo. Especially after what he just admitted. He knew it bothered her.

She could feel waves of distress coming off Sean; he couldn't function like this. She was going to say something later, but maybe she should do it now.

"Sean? I'm glad you talked to her... that must have been really hard to do," she said in a tiny voice.

"Yeah." He still wasn't looking at her. "But I'm glad I did it. Made me realize I can't spend my whole life in that cemetery." He looked up now. "I want her to meet you. Would you come with me?" He gulped. "Please?"

"M-meet her?" she sounded nervous. She hadn't really thought about it before. But if it was important to him... crap. She was getting boxed in again. At this rate, she wouldn't have a decision to make. "Ahh... sure... if that is what you want."

Sean realized it was making her uncomfortable. She probably had different customs, ideas on how to survive things like this. "It's what I would like, but it's your decision. I can't force you to go." He shook his head. "I wouldn't do that."

She stood, placing the dog on his feet. "It's not the cemetery... it's just..." She searched for what she needed to say. "I mean I don't mind cemeteries... oh shit... I don't know what I am trying to say. I've never done this before...I just … what if she doesn't like me?"

He laughed. "She will. When I tell her how happy you make me." He looked at her again. "You think it's weird, don't you? Talking to the dead?"

"Everyone is different I suppose. We tend to be a set and forget society. We don't visit our dead that much, don't clean their graves on a special day... what is that? The day of the dead or whatever. We tend to just bury them. But we get really upset if they want to dig them up and build a freeway or something. I've never been able to reconcile the two. Have one or the other … you can't do both."

"It's a way of keeping memories alive. Keeping family together. Respecting what they meant to you." He had his face scrunched up as he tried to explain. "Respect is very important...'

Jo had the sudden realisation that Sean was probably alone. Family would have looked after him; cleaned up the house, put food in his fridge, checked up on him once in a while. He had mentioned sisters when they were clothes shopping, but he didn't mention them now. It made it somehow worse, that Stacy had been it for him. And she was gone. D had said something like that, but she hadn't completely understood him.

She wanted to hug him again. She laid herself on his bowed back and put her arms around under his face.

Her clasped her tiny hands in his and raised them to his lips one after the other. Sighed. "I needed that. Thank you." He let her go and she could tell he didn't want to.

Big Sexy cleared his throat and waltzed back out with several bottled waters in his big hands. He handed one to each of the partners when they glanced up. "So, Sean. You was right. Dere iz a shipment comin' in. Some Asian group supplying drugs to da Bones in exchange for weapons dey hijacked from the Naval Reserve. You 'member, last year? They nevuh foun' dat truck dat went missin'?"

Sean nodded. "Where and when?" He was all business now. He patted Jo's hands and sat up straight. She moved around and sat beside him.

"Wednesday night. Dey nevah move de truck past Signal Hill. It's in a warehouse. Right offa Route one." He handed Sean a slip of paper with the address. "You gonna need backup on dis one?" He sounded kind of eager.

Jo looked at Sean when Sexy said that; it sounded like he had been Sean's back-up before. And that had to be against all the rules; involving a civilian. Even a heavily armed, well supplied one like Sexy.

Sean chuckled. "Not this time, bro. This op is legitimate. We'll get LAPD if we need more bodies." He stood. "We gotta go. Shit ta do." He leaned in and hugged Sexy and patted his shoulder. "Thanks, bro. I owe ya. For a lotta things."

Jo stood as well. She gave Sexy a hug too and whispered an apology, "Sorry we were swearing around your neighbours. I'll be better behaved, next time, I promise."

The big man just chuckled. "Dey used to it, dahlin'." He shrugged. "I tries to instill some manners in the kids, doh."

"Thanks again Sexy. And you seem to do a great job with the kids. I was impressed by how quickly they obey you. My Mum would be impressed," Jo laughed.

He just grinned and preened, walking them to his front door. "Sean, you bring dis purty lady back anytime, bro."

Jo couldn't resist a closer look at Sexy's decorating; Sean had dragged her through so quickly when they came in. Lots of black leather, chrome and glass. Guess it matched his flashy attire too. And what the hell was that light fitting? It was huge.

"You have a lovely home," she stammered out; remembering her manners.

Sean growled, but it reminded him he wanted to ask her about his own. God, he hoped this wasn't her idea of decorating. It was fine for Sexy, everything he did was flashy. But, it wasn't him.

"Jo, we gotta move. We're gonna be late. D's waiting." He hurried her out, too.

"Jeez, what is it with you? Drag me in...drag me out..." she grizzled. "And I'm hungry. Can we get something relatively healthy for lunch?"

"Uh... I was gonna suggest Fatburger... I think they do salads?"

"Fatburger?" she repeated incredulously. "I am NOT eating anything from a place called Fatburger!"

"What? It's good." He looked at her. "It's just a name. They don't really make the burgers from fat... I don't think." He frowned, thinking. "KFC?" They were on the interstate already, heading back south.

She sighed. "Whatever's the easiest, Sean. They must have some healthy food options right? Healthy heart tick? Anything like that?"

"Jesus! You are gonna drive me nuts. Can't be so fussy when you're working. Something quick you can eat with your fingers. More important than 'healthy'."

"Yeah right, a sandwich will do fine."

"Okay, then. Subway, it is." He gave her directions. They left the highway only long enough to pick up their sandwiches and more coffee. Then it was back to the office for his truck. They didn't have much time, but Sean insisted she go get her vest and he picked up his.

She insisted on taking time for a bathroom stop, too. He sighed and then remembered the first stakeout. He went, too. And came out of the men's room still grinning.

They headed back to the parking garage. Jo noticed a few pointed looks in the office; she had almost forgotten about their heated exchange that morning. She didn't bother telling anyone what they were heading out to do; it was none of their business.

Sean held the outer door for her and deliberately looked over her head at Gonzalez. He smirked at the Hispanic agent and lifted a brow. Put his hand on her back, possessive. Let him think what he wanted. He wasn't gonna touch her.

Jo looked up to thank him for opening the door and caught sight of his expression. He looked challenging. She thought it was probably for Gonzalez's benefit and she couldn't really look. She gave him a pointed look; he was manhandling her again, but she let it go in front of the office people. They could talk later. Crap! Had she even made a decision? They were going to be using the truck; she would have to let him hoist her in again.


	25. Chapter 25

**chapter 25 **

They made it down in the elevator without any other incident and found where he'd parked. Sean tossed in the bag of food and walked around to put her in. Was she gonna give him crap about it? He'd worry later, just wanted his hands on her. Any excuse.

Jo was tapping her foot; winding herself up to have a go at him, when he walked around the truck and saw her. He slowed down a little. Looking nervous. She frowned at him.

Sean sighed. "C'mon, Jo. I'm just gonna lift you in." He grinned. "You know you can't reach on your own." He shrugged. "I could go without you. Take one of the guys."

"Oh," she hissed at him. "Don't you start that again."

"What? Start what?"

"Do you really want to have this fight here?"

"Are we fighting? I thought I was helping you into the truck." He purred at her, smirking.

"Humph," she grunted at him. She did need his help. "Fine! Please help me into the truck."

"Gladly." He grinned wider. And moved in close, trapping her against the side.

"Sean..." she sounded like she was warning him now.

He stopped short, frowning. "We do have a problem, don't we?" He said softly. "I thought we were done with this at Sexy's. No, huh?"

"Location," she reminded him. "I mean do they have cameras in here?"

"They couldn't see anything anyway. You're so tiny." He sighed. "Yeah, at the exits and over the elevators."

"So, just help me in the truck... just do that... "She knew if she offered him something for later, he would more than take it.

"For now. But, I'm not letting you get away from me. Not now that I know what you're really worth." He looked at her like she was made of solid gold.

That look hit her hard. He looked so serious. She put her hand up and brushed across his chest; when he was this close she had real issues not touching him. He was wearing her down. "Thanks for the compliment, I guess. But we have to get going."

"Huh. Compliment?" He grabbed her, not as gently as usual and dropped her on the seat. Stomped back around and slammed his door shut. Didn't shut hers.

She rolled her eyes and leaned out to snag the handle and pull the door shut. She put her seatbelt on. If he was this cranky, God knows what his driving would be like.

Sean was a little confused and that made him angry. He didn't want to fight with her, but she made him so nuts. He was trying to say he needed her and she thought he was being polite and 'complimenting' her? Christ, what did he have to do to make it plain to her?

He silently sulked the whole way to the stakeout. Nodded as he passed the other car, and took their place when they drove off. Settled into the seat and looked out the window.

Jo watched him out of the corner of her eye. She knew she had upset him, but honestly, what did he want? They had known each other less than a week, had sex once and he's giving her the 'I'm not letting you get away' speech. It was the stuff of serial killers and stalkers. She sighed, again, and reached for the food bag. Or maybe romance novels; like she ever read those...

He figured she didn't want to talk about it, he just wouldn't say anything... at least that way he wouldn't be saying the wrong thing. Let her make conversation, if she wanted. God only knew, she could talk.

Jo picked at her sandwich. Why did it need twenty slices of meat? She took most of it off and even then, she could only eat half of it. She looked up at Sean.

"Do you want my sandwich?" she offered.

He hadn't even touched his. "Not hungry," he positively snarled. Didn't look at her.

Just stared out the window.

"Oh," she said in a small voice. "You sure?" Then she interrupted herself before he could growl at her again. "Fine... you told me..." She wrapped it up and put it back in the bag. She sighed. She looked out the window, she wriggled, she reached down and pulled her feet out of her shoes.

"What the fuck are you doing?" He snapped. "This is a stakeout, not a goddamn drive-in movie!"

"New shoes," she tried to explain. "They're hurting my feet."

"I don't believe this. You wore new shoes to a stakeout? What if we have to chase somebody? You gonna run down that alley barefoot?"

"I brought another pair and YOU are the one who wanted me to dress like this...I wanted to wear a suit and sensible shoes... but, oh no..."

"Oh, shut up! Gimme your feet." At least he was looking at her.

"What?" she squeaked.

"Don't tell me you didn't understand me. I said; give...me...your...feet." And he stuck out one hand.

She tentatively slipped her shoes off, undid her seat belt, twisted her body so that she was leaning against the door and slowly slid her feet over towards him.

Sean shook his head and sighed. Women. Why did they always buy shoes that made their feet hurt? Couldn't they find ones that looked good AND fit? He picked up Jo's left foot and began to gently rub it; the arch, around the back of the heel and the base of her toes. He felt her tense at first and then she began to relax a bit. "Better?"

"Yes, thank you and I didn't know we were going to be on a stakeout..."

"I told you we were replacing D and Franco. I thought you knew. Gimme the other one. You need some of those little pad things... or you're gonna get blisters." He groused.

"You told me that this morning, after I got to the office."

"Well, that's when I found out. You should keep a change in your locker, I guess."

"I do. It's in my car. I've got other shoes, though. And that feels really nice."

"Mmm. Used to do this for Stace, too. She always had sore feet after we went out."  
>He looked up at her. He looked surprised.<p>

"I guessed that... but I didn't know how to ask. You knew exactly the right place to rub." She was still uncertain of her boundaries, but she added, "It's okay to miss her, Sean."

He still looked slightly shell-shocked. "I never said anything about her before this without … getting choked up. I don't know what this means. I... I'm not gonna forget her... am I?" Now he sounded scared.

"Shush, shush," she said. She scooted across the seat and tried to hug him. "You won't forget her... of course you won't... she's still in your head and your heart and nothing can change that. Or replace that. Nothing and no one."

Stiff and shaky when she first put her arms around him, he took a couple of deep breaths and visibly tried to relax. "Fuck, this is hard. I get so confused. I want to move on, but... I don't want to forget her. She saved my life... she **was** my life."

He looked at her. "I don't now how to do this, Jo. I need someone to help me. I want it to be you."

Jo inhaled. And this was her problem; every time she helped him a little further down the road to healing, she was going with him; holding his hand. And she was passing the point of no return.

"You don't really have anyone else do you, Sean? No family... only D and Sexy?"

"Yeah. For a long time. Mom's gone... haven't had a Dad since I was a kid. My sisters' moved cross country."

"Crap, is that a car?" She interrupted his reverie.

"Camera. Get the camera."

She scrabbled back to the passenger side and pulled the camera out of the glovebox. They should have done this before... unprofessional again.

"Didja get it?" He was slouched down now. Watching as the car rounded the far corner of the block.

She passed it to him.

He looked through the viewfinder. "Fuck! Missed the plate.'

"Sorry, I should have got it out before and then we got distracted with our D&M." [deep and meaningful - discussion]

"Huh?" He looked sideways. "Not your fault."

She didn't look happy.

"Don't worry about it. I think they kept going anyway. Just keep an eye out in case they come back." Sean knew she'd be fretting about it. She always got stuck in the details.

"And I am putting my other shoes on, can't chase anything down with no shoes on."

"Okay. I probably shouldn't be looking at your feet, anyway. You have pretty feet. Tiny... like your hands."

She smiled at him and blushed.

"Wanna hand me that sandwich. I'm hungry. And a water." He reached out without looking, just blindly extending his hand across the cab. Smacked it right into her chest. Now, he looked. "Oh, shit! Sorry."

"Jeez, knock the air out of me why don't you? It's okay... I'll get it for you." She found the food bag on the floor and passed him the sandwich and the water, as requested. Then she swapped out the red pumps for a black pair from her bag. She held her foot up for him. "Better?" she asked.

"Mmmhmmpf." His mouth full, he could only nod. Hoped she hadn't caught the quick readjustment he'd had to make after palming her breast. She had her head buried under the dash looking for her shoes. She made him crazy. Even when she wasn't trying.

"Yeah, I preferred the red shoes too," she said as if she had understood him.

Taking a gulp of water, he cleared his throat. "You can run in those?"

She looked chagrined. "Well not the best... but better than the others. These are Beautifeels; they're like a support high heel. You did want me to blend in, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah. Blame me."

"I'd be fine in boots," she argued. But then she had a hot memory of them both ripping their boots off on Friday and she stopped talking.

Sean obviously remembered, too. "Boots..."

She cleared her throat. "The real question is 'can I run in these pants?'"

"I can see you running barefoot... but, you **cannot** take the pants off. Or I'll be chasing you." He chuckled. "Instead of the perp." He pretended to think about it for a minute. "'Course if you took 'em off, the perp might just forget about running altogether."

"Yeah, right," she huffed.

Sean muffled a laugh. Cocked an eyebrow at her. Snickered. "Gotcha." He grinned, "distraction, remember?"

"What?" she queried.

"I thought we had discussed this. I'm faster, so you are supposed to distract the perp so I can catch him. Don't you remember?"

"Well, maybe so, but the only person I seem to distract is you."

"Well, you need to practice, so we get smooth at it." He snorted another choked off laugh. "Maybe I just need to get accustomed to it. And believe me, you distract a lot of people. Don't you notice?"

She frowned a little. "I do? That's just because I'm new and different... you know."

"Fuck, no! It's 'cause you're beautiful. Why you think Gonzalez is being such an ass? Fuckin' jealous. Even D looked you over. Not that he'd do anything."

She blinked at that. "There's a Gonzalez in every office... and they try to turn everything you say into a double entendre … you know a sexual double meaning. Usually I just ignore them."

"And in Mamacita's... every guy in the place was ogling you. Even before you punched me out. 'Stafa at Sexy's... I could go on."

"Probably a few less... after I punched you out," she chuckled.

"Still... You turn heads."

"Yeah right," she huffed. "And YOU have no affect on women at all!"

"That's different. I'm a man."

"What? What's the difference? Men check me out, women check you out."

"Yeah, but... uh... " He looked confused, again. "I never thought about it like that. Just... women look, but they don't **do **anything. Guys will... uh... you know...push."

Like she didn't know that. Look what he was doing. "Fine... I'll agree that women look but don't touch." It crossed her mind to wonder how she would react to that; if a woman touched him now. She had been sulky enough when that Maria woman in the Mexican restaurant had fussed over him.

Sean sighed, and turned to watch the building. Less than a half hour later, he tapped Jo's thigh. "Camera. People coming." He hadn't changed position, still looking asleep. "Behind us."

A pair of young men swaggered up the opposite side of the street. As they got closer, Sean snaked out an arm and pulled Jo closer and down so she wasn't visible over the dash. Almost put her head in his lap. He took the camera and clicked off a few quick shots, one-handed. The other he had on her shoulder, pressing her down.

As the gang members passed, he jerked forward, and let her go. When her head popped up, the boys were staring right at the truck. They hooted and shoved each other around, laughing and making rude gestures at her. But they kept going.

He sighed. "Sorry. Thought I recognised one of them. This way all he'll be thinking about is the lucky brother with the white hooker. Not wondering if he knows the truck... or me."

"Lucky brother," she repeated. "Jeez, give a girl some warning will you?"

Sean glanced at her. "I did warn you." He smirked a little. "What did you want me to do? Ask permission first? Those two are Bones... probably headed to a pre-sale meet. Setting up the rules for the exchange."

"So there's no point following them now?"

"Let's wait a bit. Don't want to spook them." He was staring intently out the window. "Watch for anybody doesn't fit in. This area is deep in their territory. Any strangers will be pretty twitchy."

"Assuming they know where they are. Are the boundaries that solid?"

"Depends on the crew. The Bones are pretty tight."

"So any infringement, they'll take badly."

"S'why I grabbed you." He looked at her. "If they'da recognised me, they might have run... or they mighta just started shootin'. Those big shirts make it easy to hide automatic pistols. And half these shits got armour-piercing rounds. "Specially if these **are** the guys that knocked over that Navy shipment."

She looked at him. She was a little horrified that he was so matter of fact. This was his world and it was so different to hers. Random shootings and gang wars were still pretty rare in Sydney. Australia just did not have the amount of guns that America did.

"You took D out on the weekend... what if something had happened to him, Sean?"

"Whaddya mean?"

"You are just calmly talking about random shootings if the guys _think_ they recognise you. D would not have gone out on the weekend, except you asked him to."

Sean stared at her. "Jo, this is life, here. D knows. We grew up with this. We're careful. It's nothing unusual. We take risks every day. Saturday was no different." He sounded like he couldn't believe she was making such a big deal out of it.

"Well I don't like it," she grumped. As if what she felt could change it.

He snorted. "I don't, either. It's why I do this. Try to stop some of it." He grimaced. "D, too. We're only trying to make things better for... our people. It's not the fat cats at the top that get shot; die from overdoses. It's the kids in the 'hoods."

He looked over at her, so serious. "I lost probably half my friends... kids I grew up with... before I graduated high school." He swallowed hard. "I don't want that to happen to Rachel, or my kids, if I ever have any."

She reached for his hand. "I can't imagine living with that. My High School had a kid commit suicide in year 12 and the whole year got counselling. It is just a different world."

"Yeah, I guess. D, Sexy and I were lucky. We got out."

His head turned and he hissed at her, "Down! They're comin' back."

She didn't argue this time. Just threw herself down onto his thigh.

It went rock-hard under her cheek and she heard him inhale sharply. But he didn't move except to poke the lens over the edge of the window. She could hear it whirring as he took several shots.

Then a thunk sounded. Sean had tilted the wheel up out of the way. "Get up and come sit on me." He growled at her.

Her first instinct was to hide on the floor and pray he drove away, but she knew if they did that they would be blown. Running would make it very obvious they were not what they pretended to be. She lifted her head and moved to straddle his lap. She tried to be flippant, "We trying hos and joes again?"

"Mmmm." He answered as he nuzzled into the valley between her breasts. His hands slid up her back, under her shirt. He was playing with the clasp to her bra.

"Oh God," she muttered.

"Shhh. You see anybody come outta that door down there?" He chuckled. "I can't see."

She hitched herself a little closer to him, wrapped an arm around his head, turning her head to rest her cheek on the top of his head and looked towards the door.

Sean groaned. "Oh, fuck."

"Two... look Asian..." she whispered to him.

"Can you get a shot? They should be the buyers." He was muffled in her chest.

His breath was so hot against her skin. She took the camera from his hand below the door height, lifting it carefully. Her hand was a little small to hold it and take the shot but she managed it. "I hope it's got anti-shake... you're making my hands shake."

"Yeah, well I just hope I don't hafta chase anybody right now." He answered. "Is this bra expensive?"

"Yes... don't you break it... if you want it off, just ask..."

"Wanna hang it on the mirror... "

"What? Why?"

"Looks good." He laughed and rubbed his face on her some more.

She stroked the skin on the back of his head. "They've gone," she pointed out.

"Aww, damn." He chuckled and slipped his hands to the front, giving her a quick tweak. "Did you get the shots?"

"I hope so." She leaned back a little from him.

He tilted his head up to see her face. "Can I have a kiss?"

She looked at his face, so eager, so needy. And those eyes; big chocolate pools. She leant in and brushed her lips gently over his.

Sean sighed, a bit disappointed. But at least she hadn't said no. He checked his watch. Should really get her back where she belonged anyway. Next shift would be here any minute... and that meant Gonzalez.

"Thank you." He whispered. "You gotta get off me now. Shift change coming up."

"Eep, I forgot about that!" She rocketed off him and back to the passenger side.

Sean made no attempt to hide the fact that he was rather uncomfortable, simply reaching down and moving himself as best he could. "Fuck!" He swore.

"You don't have to get out of the car do you?" she asked worriedly, with a pointed glance at his groin.

"I hope it goes away by then." He huffed. I'm gonna hafta change to boxers if we do this very often. Or I'm gonna strangle something important."

"Oh no, don't do that," she said quickly, before she had really thought about it. Then she blushed.

He grinned like a school boy who'd just asked the most popular girl in school to the prom... and she said yes.

She grinned back at him; it was contagious. She squirmed a little and did some bra refixing. He had almost got her out of it. Thank goodness he had remembered the shift change; she had completely forgotten.

She checked the camera to make sure she had got a half decent shot of the two guys. It looked okay.

Sean bumped her shoulder. "Here they come. Time to go." He straightened up and turned the truck on. Then smoothly pulled out as the other car passed. He never looked at the driver, but Gonzalez stared at them, a nasty smile on his face.

"Ewww," said Jo. "Imagine if you had hung my bra on the mirror." She shuddered.

"Huh?" He looked in the rear view. "Why?"

"Seriously? Gonzalez would have never let that one go."

Sean just growled like an angry lion. "I'll kill him if he says anything."

"Don't react Sean... if you do, he knows he has hit a sore spot and he will keep poking at it... just let it go."

"Not if he's dead, he won't." He was scowling, and his nostrils flared as he breathed heavily.

He looked half serious to Jo. She reached over and ran her hand down his arm. "Don't react Sean... he's not worth it."

She tried to change the subject. "So, back to the office?" she asked brightly.

"Yeah, gotta run the photos." He looked her over. "You did say you had a change of clothes? Maybe you should do that first?"

"Why? I wore this into the office this morning."

"Ok, as long as you're okay with it..." He didn't seem too happy about that.

She sighed. She didn't need to cause more problems for him and if he beat down someone else because they made a comment... "My change of clothes is in my car. I can grab it when we park." She gave him a small smile. "If that would make you feel better."

"Good." He nodded, watching the road. They were already on the freeway, headed back north to downtown.


	26. Chapter 26

chapter 25

Sean pulled into the lot and slowly cruised to where Jo had parked. He hopped out to give her a hand. It was automatic by now. As was the fact that she waited for him to do it, too.

He parked and hurried to catch up to her, slinging the camera over his shoulder. Wanted to have both hands free. Just in case.

Jo had the rear car door open and was bending down to find the bag with the change of clothes. It had shifted under the seat a little. She grabbed it, backed away to shut the door and ran straight into Sean.

"Uhhh." He grabbed her hips as she pushed into him. "Whoa!"

"Sorry," she squeaked.

"I'm not." He crooned over the top of her head. He was still holding her against him "I think I'm beginning to like you crashing into me. Feels good... well, most of the time."

She snorted. "Unless I smack you in the nose." She pushed back a little. "Give me some room to shut the door."

"Oooh. Do that again." He purred. "I know! I'll find my old helmet...face guard. Then I'll be safe." He pulled her back and spun her to face him. Held her close. "What do you think of that?"

"Safe," she repeated in a low voice. "Not safe enough." She looked suddenly serious. She hugged herself in close to him, her arms around his waist.

"Not safe?" He repeated. He wrapped his arms tighter. "I'll keep you safe, baby." He looked down at her, like he wanted to kiss her again. His eyes were glowing.

"I'm not the one I'm worried about."

"What does that mean?" He frowned a little and the glow left his eyes. He still held her, but now he had his hands on her shoulders and he held her slightly away from him.

"I worry about you," she confessed.

His scowl deepened. "Why? Somebody say something?"

She looked a little confused now. "No, what would they tell me?" She put her hands on his face, trying to smooth out the scowl. "I worry about you. You are so angry all the time. It's not good for you... or the people around you... you nearly bit Sexy's head off because we talked."

Sean looked saddened. "I... I'm trying, Jo. I know I can be a jerk. But, you hafta know. I would never hurt you... or let anybody else hurt you." He sighed. "That's why I need you... to keep me sane. As crazy as you make me, you keep me sane."

She gave a little smile at his confession that she made him crazy. That made two of them. "I know," she told him. She had never picked up a vibe from him, that he would ever hurt a woman. She stretched up on tiptoes and kissed him.

He just folded around her like he was trying to absorb every inch of her. Or melt into her. She was so tiny, so sweet and so strong. Most other women would have run, he knew that. But not Jo. She fought for things. He wanted to be one of those things.

"I think... I think we better get these shots inside. Before I do something stupid." He mumbled hoarsely. And pushed her gently away. He cleared his throat and grinned sheepishly. "You make me crazy," he repeated.

"Bloody Hell," she exclaimed. "You're not wrong." She had to stop herself before she had climbed half up his thigh. He made her do all sorts of things she usually didn't. Like pash her partner in the carpark; for one. She slammed the car door.

He took a big breath and smiled. "C'mon." He took her arm. Sean dropped Jo by the locker-room and continued up to the tech department.

Jo got changed and put the red and black outfit in the locker. She changed into jeans and a fitted t-shirt. She should have put in a change of underwear, too. Next time. She put back on the black pumps. That was all she had. It would look okay. She brushed her hair and thought through what Sean had said. He did seem to be trying; that was true. And Sexy thought he had made big strides. She locked up and headed up to their office.

Frost saw her come in as he went back from getting a cup of the awful office coffee. He waved at her to join him. Figured he'd check on the new agent, see how she and Vetter were getting along. Maybe she could explain what had made him blow up the other morning, too. Gonzalez wasn't talking.

She saw the imperious wave and detoured to the SAC's office. "G'day," she said as she poked her head in the door. "Whatd'ya need? Sean's at tech... we got some shots of the guys we hope are the buyers this morning."

"That's excellent, Jo. Things are progressing, then. How're you and Sean getting along? He get you everything you need? Got you settled in the safe house and all?"

_Don't blush... don't blush_. She ordered herself. How was she getting along with Sean? Dear God. "Aahhh... fine... the house is ...fine..." _I made him bleed, he made me come so hard. Maybe not that one._

The SAC looked at his newest agent a bit concerned. She seemed hesitant to say anything. "You two aren't having any problems, are you? He's behaving himself?"

He sighed, unhappily. "Look, Jo. If he's giving you a hard time, you need to tell me. I know he wasn't happy being assigned to you...?"

He tried to comfort her. "But he'll come around. He's my best man...?"

"He's been very helpful... given me advice... everything is so different here..." She coughed a little. "He's even introduced me to some of his friends."

"I heard about the barbecue. D and Candace are like his family."

"Yes, I understand they are pretty much his only family." She was fishing for what Frost knew.

"That's true. Since Stacy was killed... she was his wife... D has been all that has kept him together. Went through counseling, but it didn't do much for him. You know he lost his badge for a while? "

She remembered him saying he could talk to her. "Lost his badge?" So he had lost it before? Sexy said he was in danger of losing it now.

Frost sighed. "I hate to lay this on you. You're probably pretty overwhelmed as it is. Just trying to get settled and fit in. Sean took off after... he got out of the hospital. I warned him he couldn't go off on his own... he just threw his badge on my desk. Next thing I know he's in Columbia. He found Memo... when no one else could."

"You did say he was your best man," she reminded him.

Frost smiled. "He can be a bit of a loose cannon. He still has a wicked temper. But he's been working on that... ever since he... uh. Jo, there's no easy way to say this. Sean lost his badge because he was on a set-up, a sting, and the guy that killed his wife was there. He must have said something. Sean lost it completely. Beat the man to death with his fists. And we lost three agents when everything went to hell."

He put his hand over hers. "That's not in the official report and goes no further, okay? D covered it up."

Jo had no idea what facial expression she wore; she thought she might still be breathing because she hadn't fainted yet. She forced herself to blink.

"I u-understand," she managed to say.

"Are you sure? He's not that man any more, Jo. He's better in some ways. But he's still bottling up a lot of anger."

"Yes, I know... he's still angry..." Her head was spinning.

"Aha. That look have something to do with the little fracas in the office?" The SAC smiled to let her know he wasn't upset, just curious.

_So he did know about that._ She would not have said anything until she was sure. "Gonzalez made a comment... about my... physical attributes. I didn't understand the full implications of the comment; a lot of language is slang that I don't understand. Sean told me later it was particularly offensive." She shrugged. "He... ahhh... took objection... physically..."

"You mind telling me what he said?" Frost looked particularly unhappy.

"If I can, it was something about me being 'primo ass' and he asked if Sean was 'hitting' it? Something like that at any rate. As I said, I didn't understand it."

Frost actually blushed and he stuttered for a moment. "Wha... what?" He took a gulp of coffee and made a face. Took a deep breath. "Do you want to press charges? It's certainly within your rights... and he deserves it."

"Sean suggested Human Resources was not the best way to deal with it." She was conciliatory. Made Sean look reasonable.

"Human Resources! Hell, no, my dear. That's sexual assault. Criminal offence." He rubbed his hand over his mouth. "He'd be on suspension, at the least."

She had no idea it was **that **serious. "I don't think it would benefit Sean or me to have Gonzalez suspended. But he has been a … little odd. I don't want to cause more trouble. Perhaps if you could have a quiet word in his shelly pink?"

"His what?" Frost's bushy white eyebrows drew down.

"Sorry...I meant have a quiet talk to him... shelly pink … ear..." she explained.

"Ah... yes. I can certainly do that. If you're sure you don't want to pursue this?" he seemed relieved.

She thought of something else. "As long as Sean isn't in trouble for hitting him... dealing with it in his own way... you know."

Frost sighed. "Yes, I surely do. But in this case, I think I can cut him some slack."

He glanced up. "In fact, I think he may be looking for you." He nodded at the hallway. "Any time you need anything, Jo. You come to me." He stood and walked her to the door.

"Thank you for your time... and I'll do that."

Sean saw them together and frowned for a moment, but he was too excited about their discovery to stay concerned for long. "Boss! I think we may have them. Jo got some great pictures today. We ID'd some of the Bones and two members of that Malaysian gang the Feebs have been investigating."

He nearly bounced, he was so wound up. "And, Jo and I got some other info yesterday... supposed to be a meet Wednesday. We could set up a take-down..."

Jo heard him through the haze in her head. Maybe this job would be over sooner than even she had anticipated. She found her eyes drawn to his hands... his big, strong hands. She thought she might be sick.

"Excuse me," she muttered and she ran for the bathroom.

She never heard the rest of the discussion. That the FBI was investigating this group and would need to be informed. That they would most likely want to let this 'sale' go through so they could trace the weapons back to their ultimate purchasers... and they would be the drug suppliers, as well. It wasn't over, yet. Not by a long shot.

Jo was spewing her guts out. Frost had given her information that had truly shattered her. She knew plenty of people who had shot and killed others, heck she'd done it herself... But to beat someone to death with his bare hands? That, she didn't know what to do with. The same hands that had touched her and given her pleasure... those hands... She looked at herself in the mirror. Fuck, she'd only been here a week.

She washed her face and rinsed her mouth. She tried to calm herself down. She had to think. She knew he could be gentle; she'd seen that. What did Frost say? That the guy must have said something to him to cause him to react like that?

She had an awful realisation. He must have told Sean he had killed his wife. Fuck! That was the only thing that would explain it. He must have bragged about it to what he thought was another crim. Told him he killed a cop's wife. A fatally stupid mistake.

Sean watched Jo run off, wondering what was up. _She's sick? Something she ate? Oh, crap, don't tell me it's that time of the month. Not now!_ He didn't know whether to go check on her or not.

"Right," she told her mirror self. "You are going out there and you will be professional. You are not a quitter. It wasn't in the report. Even if you researched, you wouldn't have known about this one." She smiled brightly at herself; it looked forced, but it would have to do. She shook her hair, ran her fingers through it. Fixed up her lippie* and went back to her office. [*lipstick]

Sean was sitting at the desk, making phone calls. He looked up as Jo came in and slid into her chair. She looked green. He frowned, told whoever was on the phone he'd call back and hung up.

"You okay? You don't look so hot." He frowned. "I was gonna order us dinner, but maybe you should go home?" He was giving her his full attention.

"I … I." She took a swig out of a bottle of water. "Must be the change in the water," she suggested. "I feel pretty crook*." [*sick]

"Yeah? Took a whole week? Usually happens a lot faster than that. Maybe it was the sandwich... they sat in the truck for a while... "Sean looked at her carefully. Something was definitely not right. Not only was she pale, her hands shook and she seemed to be having trouble looking him in the eye.

He grumbled. "You want me to drive you?" He kind of hoped she said no. He really didn't want to let any time pass before getting the calls made. He really only had one day to get this thing set up and God knew the Feebs were slow. He wanted his team set up beforehand at the very least.

"I don't want to let you down... but I just..." She held her hand over her mouth. She looked like she was going to be sick.

"Just go, I'll call you if anything comes up," he grunted at her. Then he added, "Get better!"

She nodded furiously, grabbed her bag and hurried out of the office. She flew into the locker-room and collected her clothes and shoes; she wanted those shoes. By the time she had reached her car, she was a little calmer. Just being away from him allowed her to think.

She was overreacting; she knew it, but... She had just fallen apart in the last week. And now she was running from the job she came here to do. Tonight; she would give herself tonight and then she would be back at her desk tomorrow.

She followed the GPS instructions automatically, her mind pinging everywhere. At the house she almost breathed a sigh of relief when she got in the door. It was the closest thing she had to a haven right now.

_Why didn't anyone tell her this? Because you might react like this?_ She sculled* [*drank in one go] a glass of wine and felt a little better. She had a shower and scrubbed herself in the shower; as if it would make any difference now.

She dressed in a t-shirt and loose sleep pants. She really should eat something. She ate some breakfast cereal. Didn't feel like cooking or ordering in anything. She took another big glass of wine to bed and she took her pad and paper with her.

Sometimes when she was stuck on a decision she wrote a list of 'for and against'. She did that now. She wrote 'Sean' on the top and scored a heavy line down the centre of the page.

She piled some pillows behind her back, pulled her knees up and laid the pad on them. She tapped the pen on her lips and tried to think rationally.

'Strange land', 'South Central gang violence' went on the 'against' side, as did 'different culture'. Sexy had offered to give her lessons on their culture for God's sake. 'Aggressive', 'possessive' and 'violent' went down too. In a moment of whimsy she added 'don't speak the language'. She was away from her whole support group. She added 'family & friends' to the negatives too. 'He's my partner'; she had told herself that a thousand times. 'Leaving Oz'. That was a biggie, she loved Australia. Sean was never going to leave.

She blinked. She had just taken a leap into the future; a future where they were together and debating where they lived. That surprised her.

She looked at the blank 'for' side. There was Sean; the way he made her feel. He touched her and her whole body heated up. Seeing him naked made her mouth go dry. And the sex? Oh God, the sex. He was damaged and brittle and clutchy and he wore his heart on his sleeve and he wanted her. And that was part of what scared her; that he seemed to want her so badly. They hadn't even practiced safe sex; they had such a heated encounter. Thank goodness she had the jab in the arm contraceptive before she came and Sean... She guessed he hadn't been having sex with anyone.

She had written 'SEAN' down while she was thinking. She had put little serifs on the ends of the letters and shaded it. Like she used to do in High School.

She looked at the piece of paper. A whole lot of negatives, and one massive positive.

Him.

She startled suddenly as she heard a noise downstairs. She climbed out of bed, reached for her gun, and made her way to the door to listen. She tried to remember if she had left any lights on downstairs.


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 26 **  
><strong>Sean<strong>

Sean watched his partner flee the office. He was really worried. Not only about her, but also hoping this wasn't a reaction to the stakeout. He remembered she had said she hadn't done much undercover work, but if this was her freaking over just a stakeout, he didn't know if she would be able to handle the next step. He needed to know his partner had his back... that she wouldn't panic in the field.

He spent another hour organising the DEA team, notified LAPD of the possible op coming up and waiting for the FBI liaison officer to return his call. He finally gave up and decided to just go and check on her.

He checked his watch; it was getting late, anyway. The Feeb had his cell if he needed to call tonight. He made one more call, pulling Gonzalez and his partner, Luis Ortega off the stakeout. No sense spooking the suspects now. Then he went back to inform the Cap.

The office was quiet, most of the other agents had left for the night. A couple sat at their desks finishing up the never-ending paperwork. They just nodded as he went by, but he could sense the slight tension in the air; the growing excitement of getting some serious work accomplished. It would be ten times worse tomorrow. He couldn't help a little private grin. This was what they lived for. Taking down the bad guys.

He stuck his head around Frost's door. "Cap? You busy?"

Frost looked up with a smile. The kid looked good. "Just finishing up, Sean. Come in. You have something for me?"

"Wanted to let you know how things are going, Boss." Sean strode in, looking almost his old self. Frost mentally crossed his fingers. Hoped he hadn't scared the girl off. She was obviously good for Sean.

Sean filled the SAC in on his progress so far, who he had teamed with whom, that he had backed off the surveillance, notified LAPD and the FBI, all the little details. Frost nodded through his report, quite pleased. This was his favourite agent at his best. He would have to remember to pull Jo aside and thank her when he got a chance.

Sean grabbed his jacket off the back of his chair and headed out. He'd said nothing to Frost about Jo's dash off to the bathroom. His little problem; the Cap had enough on his mind. He was going to stop and check on her, though.

He pulled into the drive of the safe house behind Jo's car. The whole place was dark, which surprised and concerned him a little. God, he hoped she wasn't sick. He was going to need her in the next couple of days. He walked around the back to check; maybe she was in the kitchen?

No. No lights anywhere. He debated banging on the door. _Maybe she's just sleeping. I should just go and let her rest. What if she's really sick? Montezuma's revenge can make you pretty weak. I'll just sneak in quiet. Check and then go._

Sean quietly unlocked the back door and eased it open. Slipped inside and just as quietly closed it. Snuck across the kitchen and down the hall toward the stairs. Did just fine until he kicked her bag that she had dropped right at the first step. He froze and muffled a curse.

Waiting for a few moments, listening hard, he heard nothing. So he stepped carefully over the bag and mounted the steps nearly silently.

Jo was listening intently. The second she hear the key in the lock she knew it had be another DEA officer. But then she heard a muffled curse and she knew it was Sean.

She stepped out into the doorway and hollered, "What the Hell do you think you are doing?"

"Checking on you? You looked awful. I was worried." His basso rumble echoed up the stairs. "You okay?"

"You can't just come over here and let yourself in... this is supposed to be my home."

"You don't want me here? Or you just mad 'cause I have a key and you don't? I'll give you one. You can have D's." He was still climbing up. "I **said** I was worried." He stopped just at the top step. "What? You gonna shoot me?"

She looked at her own hand in surprise; she still had her gun, she had forgotten. She should have stopped him coming up the stairs, but he was here now. She glanced quickly back at her bed. "A key? Of course I have a key. How do you think I got in?" Then the light dawned. "You mean a key to your house?"

"Yeah. 'Course a key to my house. Why not?" He grinned. "You're my partner."

Her eyes narrowed. "That is not what you are offering and you know it." She waved the gun at him for emphasis. Fuck! She had to put that down before she really shot him.

Sean's eyes widened as she waved the pistol practically under his nose. "Whoa! Take it easy. That is what I meant. Don't hafta get all bent. Just say no if ya don't want it." He frowned. "D always had a key when we were partners." He really didn't get what her issue was.

She clicked the safety on and put the gun down on her bed. She wanted to toss it, but that was stupid even with the safety on. By the time she turned back, he had taken another step into her room.

Sean saw the notepad by her bed and picked it up. "What's this? Jeez, you gotta work even when you're sick..." He was reading it, now. He looked up.

She froze. Once he had picked it up she couldn't stop him. As if she could overpower him.

"What the fuck?" He scowled.

She folded her arms across her chest and went on the defensive. "I-I needed to think... it's how I work things out... write them down..." she stuttered.

"You had to **write down** how you feel? I asked you before to talk to me. Why couldn't you just talk to me?" Angry, hurt, he sighed. "Doesn't look like I'm doing so good."

"You confuse me, you are always pushing at me... I can't talk to you... I always just seem to get myself into more trouble with you... I'm all turned around and..."

Sean dropped onto the bed, the pad still in his hands. He looked up at her. Reached out and very gently laid it back on the nightstand.

"I meant what I said before, Jo. I want you to stay with me. We can talk about it, but I need you to stay with me." He huffed. "Do you understand what I'm telling you? I was on the road to ending it... close to just eating my gun. I... I don't feel that way when you're with me. I don't know if I'd survive if you leave me."

He looked up, begging with his eyes. "You can't leave now. We're so close...the mission..."

"I don't care about the mission!" she blurted out. "And the fact that I even say that is horrific to me. I know I can't leave... I can't leave you." She started to pace, waving her hands frantically. "You've seen my list of negatives... it's huge. I don't even speak the language here, I have no idea what I am doing. I am so far up shit creek without a paddle, I can never get back."

She looked at him; that suicide confession had really frightened her. "And the only thing I have on the positive side is you. And you are a pretty big thing. I nearly drew freaking hearts around your name... look at it! And I don't know how this happened so fast. It's not even been a week! You stomp all over my carefully drawn lines with your big feet."

She took a big breath, holding her hands up when he looked like he might interrupt. "I think I love you and that scares me so much. That you have made me care about you this much," she waved at the pad. "In less than a week. How did that happen?" she asked plaintively.

"You do?" His whole face lit up. "I... I guess I do, too. I've just been fighting admitting it. I didn't want to. I thought..." He looked back at his feet. "I thought I was meant to be with Stacy forever. We were so... so simpatico, you know. The same, I mean. But, you... you make me see things different. I see things I never even realized were there."

Sean took a deep breath. "Will you give me a chance, Jo? Try to be a better man? I **will** try... for you. You are my angel."

"I know," she whispered. "I'll try Sean. I want to try, but this is a huge thing for me. Leaving everything behind."

"I understand, baby. I do. You confuse the hell outta me and I got homeys to fall back on. I know it's harder for you. But you're tough. You can do it." He lifted his arms, "C'mere, Angel."

She took a tiny step towards him. He was holding out those hands to her; the ones that had upset her so badly before. But that was her issue; not his. He had used what he had to wreak vengeance and she kind of understood that. She had to ask herself what she would have done in that situation and to be honest, she didn't know.

She took another tiny step and then she let out a big breath and rushed towards him. She made her decision.

Sean gathered her up. She looked so pathetic. Tiny and almost like she was afraid of him.

Afraid to go and afraid to stay. Kind of the way he felt. Afraid to reach out and afraid to let go. But he figured they could work that all out together.

"I'm gonna go home, now, Jo. Let you get some rest. Even though I don't want to."

She clung to him now. "I'm okay... now."

"You... you want me to stay?"

"Please. We can just sleep if that's all you want to do. But please stay."

"All I want? Hell no! it's not what I want... But I think... I think it's all we should do... tonight." He squeezed her tighter. "There's always tomorrow, Jo. Now that you are here, tomorrow sounds just great to me."

She chuckled. "And you reckon I confuse you? Mr Physicality backs off." She snorted. But she softened it by hugging him back.

She let him go. She reached over and turned the writing pad face down.

He kicked off his boots and turned off the light. Leaned back and lay down with her still in his arms.

She snuggled down. "You sure you can sleep in all those clothes?" She asked pointedly.

"No. But I'm afraid to take them off. You want me to take off my pants, Jo?" He chuckled.

"Seems like it is my turn to take them off."

"Okay, I guess that's fair." He laughed aloud.

'_Never Say Never' by The Fray_

There's some things we don't talk about

Rather do without

And just hold the smile

Falling in and out of love

Ashamed and proud of

Together all the while

You can never say never

Why we don't know when

Time and time again

Younger now than we were before

Don't let me go

Don't let me go

Don't let me go

Picture you're the queen of everything

As far as the eye can see

Under your command

I will be your guardian

When all is crumbling

Steady your hand

You can never say never

Why we don't know when

Time time and time again

Younger now then we were before

Don't let me go

Don't let me go

Don't let me go

We're pulling apart and coming together again and again

We're growing apart but we pull it together pull it together together again

Don't let me go

Don't let me go

Don't let me go

THE END


End file.
